MP SPEAKS | In the past few weeks, PKR has been hit with the defections of three of its MPs. This is not the first time.

For our members and supporters, the latest incident will no doubt be discouraging and even cause anger.

My ex-comrades were given every opportunity at the party. Some were even appointed to high positions in government.

They will make all kinds of excuses for their actions - but the rakyat is not stupid and will undoubtedly make their judgement when the next election is called.

I, for my part, am staying on in PKR. I started helping the party out two decades ago as a 19-year-old inspired by Reformasi and joined the party formally four years later.

A truly multiracial, national and reformist party committed to social justice will always be relevant in Malaysia.

PKR is a big tent

PKR is extremely diverse. It has been Malaysia’s most successful multiracial party. Our path to success has been by fashioning the party as an inclusive big tent that seeks to bring people within.

We currently have 1,037,888 members with a division in every single 222 parliamentary constituencies in the country. In 2018, this figure was 800,000. The party also has 1,592 branches.

This makes us the third-largest party in Malaysia, after Umno’s three million members and PAS’ 1.5 million.

Moreover, unlike Umno and PAS, it is also an extremely big tent.

Liberals, social democrats, religious activists and nationalists of all races and religions rub shoulders in our ranks. Discussions can be very passionate - for the very reason that we are the few political parties in the country that truly represents the diversity of the country.

There are members who only turn out for elections, intending to ensure the party’s victory, and then disappear for the next five years to focus on their lives.

There are those who show up for every event or programme at a moment’s notice and participate actively in the party organisation at the central, state, division and branch level.

There are veterans who joined during the Reformasi era and young people who came in after the Sheraton Move.

So, as with any human institution, there are all kinds of motivations and energy levels. And like all organisations, there will be times when turnover is high.

PKR has been here before. We’ve been hit by mass defections at different stages in our history.

Critics will write us off time and time again. But we bounce back stronger than before.

And quite frankly, defections are a problem across the Malaysian political spectrum.

All parties have fallen prey. Name any Malaysian party, and you’ll find they’ve lost members, legislators and leaders at one point or another.

I might also add that many PKR MPs - including yours truly - warned against Bersatu accepting defecting legislators from Umno during the 2018-2019 period.

A higher standard

Of course, people will say that PKR should hold itself to a higher standard.

I agree. As I wrote earlier, the constant infighting and defections are exhausting voters.

Every MP or assemblyperson of ours who leaves is at least a partial failure of the party.

It is an inexcusable betrayal of the people’s mandate, and we must do our utmost to recover these seats in the next elections.

And we will.

But we need greater discipline. The time has come to roll up our sleeves and deliver.

There are nuances in any party’s struggle - but we cannot expect ordinary Malaysians to have to keep putting up with our dramas.

PKR must recommit to the cause of reform. We are a multiracial party seeking a more just Malaysia for all its people.

Members who are more concerned with getting positions or furthering their personal agendas should leave.

The buck stops with us, PKR loyalists.

There have been suggestions that progressive parties should seek anti-hopping legislation - although the enactment in Penang has yet to be tested in court.

Another idea would be to compel MPs or assemblypersons who want to leave their parties to undergo a by-election, although this would require an amendment to Article 48(6) of the Federal Constitution which disqualifies an MP who resigns from contesting for five years.

Either way, we will need the support of the rakyat to ensure these reforms are carried out.

And this will not happen if we are not disciplined and united.

The time has come for us to move on and move forward.

The buck stops with us.

NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD is Setiawangsa MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.