Allow conscience vote on constitutional amendments over citizenship

PROJECT Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA) urges the Madani Government and the official Opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) to allow conscience vote on the proposed regressive constitutional amendments over citizenship that will remove the constitutional right to citizenship for many vulnerable groups (“the regressive amendments”).

The late Karpal Singh, a principled parliamentarian whom Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highly respected, might then be proud of this Government.

While the government has said it intends to finally deliver on its promise to grant equal rights to Malaysian mothers to confer citizenship to their overseas-born children, the Minister of Home Affairs has also stated his intention to bundle together the regressive amendments.

Commendably, Karpal Singh’s son Ramkarpal Singh, former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), has been consistent in objecting to the regressive amendments, in line with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) commitment to human rights.

Projek SAMA wishes that another of his sons, Digital Minister Gobind Singh, can persuade the Cabinet to see the wisdom in allowing Government MPs – including Ministers and Deputy Ministers - to vote on their conscience. This position was actually made by Economy Minister Rafizi on 18 December 2022. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/12/18/govt-mps-free-to-vote-basedon-conscience-says-rafizi/

Projek SAMA underlines that the Federal Constitution is too important to be subject to hurried amendments on matters concerning citizenship, without the backing of any White Paper to present justifying facts and figures, especially when the Home Minister’s poor defence of the regressive amendments have been roundly refuted by stakeholders.

Notably, the regressive amendments are not part of election manifesto for any of the coalitions and parties in the Madani Government. Therefore, There is no political Or moral basis for the government parties to impose their current position on their parliamentarians, when the issues are under-deliberated.

Allowing a conscience vote – such that every parliamentarian can vote according to his/her conscience as parties do not impose their positions on MPs via party whip – is the best solution to balance the commitments of Governments and its MPs.

In this way the Government can proceed to notionally table the bill; and if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and/or Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution have committed to do so for whatever political reasons best known to him (them), then he (they) can be seen as having fulfilled his (their) commitment. But should the amendments fail to be passed, the Government’s political strength remains intact. This is how governments in the United Kingdom and other established parliamentary democracies deal with political hot potatoes.

Not allowing a conscience vote can cause conscience-driven parliamentarians in DAP and Amanah who vote against the amendment to be declared by their respective party as having ‘ceased to be a party member’ under their respective party constitution, which in turn causes their parliamentary seat to be vacated under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, popularly known as the Anti-Hopping Law (AHL).

Whether driven by religious or humanitarian conviction, some parliamentarians simply cannot bring themselves to vote for the regressive constitutional amendments, which they know by their convictions would cause heart-wrenching miseries to tens of thousands of foundlings in years to come.

If they are therefore automatically removed from their party and Parliament, the AHL will be rendered a draconian law, which is against the noble intentions behind its enactment. More disastrously, the Government will face unnecessary tests in any by-elections that ensue, when it should instead be focused on fixing the economy.

Projek SAMA reminds the Madani Government that imposing party whip on its parliamentarians does not guarantee the passage of any bill, because human plans may be thwarted by events beyond human control. Providence may work in mysterious ways.

As the Government has only five seats (inclusive the six Bersatu defectors) beyond the two-third majority, any medical or other emergency affecting six or more MPs – from food poisoning to flu – can cause the government to lose the bill.

If that happens, its political authority will be eroded, as what happened to the PH 1.0 Government’s defeat on the Article 2 amendment in 2019.

Conscience vote is therefore the best option for the Madani Government if it wants to balance interests of various sectors and avoid the risk of a constitutional bill defeat.

To set an example for the Madani Government, we call upon the Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and the PN leadership to announce its allowance of a conscience vote for its MPs.

Project - Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA) is an initiative to advocate for institutional reforms for the sake of political stability and accountability at a time when our nation steers through the uncharted waters of a hung parliament and coalition government. In Malaysia, we share the common (sama) destiny. Ngeow Chow Ying serves as convenor.