Tea Break with Ianny

 Malaysia’s electorate handed the Barisan Nasional (BN) 140 seats in the March 2008 election.  The remaining 82 seats went to an alliance of opposition parties known as Pakatan Rakyat.

63% dominance in the parliament is an enviable result for any ruling party, except that the BN had always enjoyed 2/3 majority since Malaysia’s independence in 1957.

It doesn’t help that de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a former Deputy PM, is enticing BN MPs to switch sides.  All he needs is for 30 to cross over, and he topples the government.  At the moment, the scenario looks very possible.

But is it be fair for an elected MP to defect?  Many voters cast their ballots for the party they support, not for the candidate himself.  They mark their tick against the party symbol, not the candidate’s name.

Defecting then, would constitute an act of betrayal against such voters.