Aliran Media Statement
An Open Letter to All Candidates in the Sabah State Election
On the eve of the Sabah state elections scheduled for 12 and 13 March 1999, Aliran Kesedaran Negara respectfully extends its greetings to all voters and all the candidates standing for election.
As the candidates from all parties, the voters of Sabah, and indeed all Malaysian people know, every past Sabah state election beginning in 1985 has raised such critical political and constitutional issues as
- the right of voters to elect their representatives under fair conditions
- the right of voters to determine the government of their choice by constitutional means, and,
- the right of the majority party to form the government.
Such issues have been of great concern not only to the state and the voters of Sabah, but also the whole nation and the people of Malaysia.
But no one in Sabah or the rest of Malaysia who has witnessed
- the Tambunan incident of 1984
- the failed coup d'etat of 1985
- the overt and covert harassment of the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) State Government by the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led Federal Government from 1985 to 1994, and
- the defections of certain elected representatives which caused the fall of the PBS government in 1994
can fail to note that the Sabah voters' right to determine the government of their choice has been frequently and sorely tested.
Aliran has consistently supported the democratic and constitutional right of the Sabah voters to cast their votes without having to face any form of intimidation, sabotage or betrayal.
Like other fair-minded Malaysians, in and out of Sabah, Aliran recognizes that the Malaysian Constitution expressly provides for the freedom of association as a constitutional right of all Malaysians. Translated into the context of the present Sabah election, this means that every candidate has the right to belong to any political party, or, for that matter, to stand as an independent.
However, every Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) (state assembly member) who is elected on a particular ticket has a sacred responsibility to the voters not to abuse his or her freedom of association by defecting from one party to another AFTER the election. This responsibility applies equally to an ADUN who stands as an independent candidate.
The same responsibility becomes all the more critical when any instance of party-hopping clearly undermines the stability of a government constituted from the party which wins a majority of the seats in the Dewan Undangan Negeri (state assembly).
There should only be one condition under which an ADUN can switch parties after the election. That is, the ADUN must RESIGN from his or her seat to which he or she no longer has any moral claim.
Otherwise, voters, and all fair-minded Malaysians should rightly consider a party-hopper to be nothing more and nothing less than a traitor to his or her constituency.
Hence, Aliran strongly calls upon all candidates in this Sabah election to
- declare publicly, that if they are elected, they will NOT switch parties after the election UNLESS they first vacate their seats
- undertake publicly that they will NOT betray their voters by switching parties after the election, and,
- undertake solemnly not to allow a repeat of the shameful party-hopping after the 1994 election which completely undermined a democratically elected government.
In addition, Aliran strongly urges all contesting political parties to declare publicly they will NOT accept any defecting ADUN into their party UNLESS the defecting ADUN first vacates his or her seat.
Only then can the elected representatives of the people claim to uphold their voters' choice consonant with the spirit of the Malaysian Constitution.
Only then can the Sabah voters cast their votes without fear of having their choice of representatives frustrated after an election.
And only thus can any political party which succeeds in forming the next Sabah government claim to enjoy a popular and true mandate -- NOT a fraudulent one.
Aliran Executive Committee
11 March 1999