AS campaigning for the 15th General Election (GE15) heats up, candidates from all parties are shifting to top gear which means more aggressive campaigning and strategies to draw voters.
One issue that interests me is how certain politicians seem to be constantly harping on the issue of one being a traitor and how he or she betrayed his or her party.
I am not a keen political follower, but I do keep abreast with latest issues and one question that keep cropping up in my mind is how you label one as a traitor in politics.
From what I understand, a person first makes a decision to join a political party based on its ideals and the purpose it is formed which is mostly to fight for the rights of the people and for a better nation.
However, as time goes by and different leaders take over the particular party, it may lose its initial focus with the new leaders having other interests in mind, including enriching themselves and perhaps, even their family members who may also be in the party.
So, when this happens, what happens to those who joined the party based on its initial goals and struggles?
This is very similar to a sinking ship. Does one go down with the ship or does one save himself?
Defining a ‘traitor’
To me personally, I feel that a person can only be labelled a traitor in politics if it is proven that he or she abandoned ship for either money or position.
If someone leaves X party to join Y party because he or she was offered certain rewards, then it absolutely befits him or her to be labelled a traitor for he/she has betrayed the trust of the other members.
However, in certain instances, we need to look deeper into why a particular politician jumped ship in the first place, especially if that particular ‘jump’ was not self-rewarding at all.
If what that person did is purely to better serve the people and fulfil the political ambitions he/she has set out to do in the first place, then he/she does not deserve the traitor label.
Look at the individual not the party.
Secondly, it is important also to look beyond party representation and personally gauge what that particular person who jumped ship has done for the people and his/her track record.
If that person has served the rakyat well and his/her performance track record speaks for itself, then we as voters should look beyond the party he/she represents to vote for the individual.
From what I have read and understand, there are many good politicians out there who were literally forced to abandon ship as those in leadership positions seemed to be fighting only for personal interests and gains, and not for the interests of the rakyat.
These politicians have no choice but to join another party as not many have the financial means to contest under an independent ticket.
Candidates should not launch personal attacks just to win favour among the electorate, but instead stick to clean, professional campaigning.
They should just focus on what they have to offer and how they hope to achieve their goals for the people.
Do not campaign by constantly looking for the faults in your opponent but instead tell the voters why they should choose you instead of your opponents. – Nov 11, 2022
Norhayati Sharuddin
Seremban
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
