Are principles alien to politics?

Principles and politics.

Two things one would never associate, let alone put in a sentence, with each other.

Over time, we have come to expect that anyone who goes into politics are, or will eventually be, rogues who squeeze the masses dry.

It is similar to what many think of lawyers of being unpleasant individuals who manipulate the law and hoodwink clients to get a huge payday.

That is precisely why I was left befuddled when a former deputy minister crossed over to join federal opposition party, PKR.

Surprisingly, however, friends and colleagues of mine said the decision was "expected" because the "writing was on the wall" anyway.

Personally, it should never be "okay" for one to cross over, no matter what position one holds, from one political party to another if principles are the order of the day.

"Expected", however, seems to be the way Malaysians have come to think of our politicians.

We "expect" that politicians do not care much about principles and that crossovers are a non-event, when in fact, it should be.

Because for a politician to be a member of a given party, that individual stands by almost everything his party stands for.

Umno has more often than not been a nationalist party which has a pretense of championing the needs of a particular group in society, while the collective which is Barisan Nasional, represents a divided nation grouped together in a loose fashion to keep things from boiling over.

In short, PKR’s new recruit stood for, and represented, every ideal that Umno tried to force down our throats, albeit with moderate posture.

From the outside, it looks as though the move to "jump ship" is to advocate one’s personal programme as opposed to a collective agenda for the people centred on principled politics.

While some may label Umno’s latest escapee as a liberal, what is to be done if more leaders within the party begin to escape the sinking ship?

If a politician genuinely believed in the ideals of democracy, then one would have partaken in a political party which put into practice that agenda right from the off, instead of parachuting into the next best thing when things turn sour.

It is also similar to the attitude of leaders who today are lauding the stance taken by Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, who has done a complete 180-degree turn on his stand when he was in power, and supported a street protest two months ago.

Instead of that, if we genuinely believe in a way of politics which promotes and allows for principles to be embedded in, then we should also not be over the moon if one who mounted attack after attack on democracy, now puts on a different mask and goes back on his words.

While the fabric of our law allows and advances the freedom to associate, there should also be room for Malaysians to demand more from those whom we call politicians, that is, the ones who stand for and take office, so that we uphold the idea of "ketuanan rakyat", instead of "ketuanan wakil rakyat".

That is precisely why to this day, I remember vividly the call by the former DAP chairman to put in place a former opposition leader for encouraging party hopping because it was "immoral".

There should be a place for principles in politics. In fact, it should be the foundation upon which our political system is built upon.

Ethical operations and principled actions should not be like chalk and cheese, not when it comes to politics. – October 21, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.