LETTER | Party loyalty: Should one go down with sinking ship or bail out?

LETTER | I read with great interest a High Court decision yesterday where former PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin was asked to pay RM10 million to the party for breaking a bond with it.

As a voter, I think that though the law of contract is clear in that there is a penalty for breach of contract, the issue is should such a law apply to political situations such as this.

One question that comes to mind as a voter is - what should a representative do if the party he or she belongs to begins to lose focus of its initial goals and its vision and mission are all out of focus?

I believe Zuraida may have joined PKR at that time because its struggles were different and also its leaders.

Along the way, there could be a strong possibility that Zuraida found that the party was no longer focused on its initial struggles and that it was time for her to move on.

My question here is, should a representative remain with a particular party even though that party is sinking - should they sink with the ship or bail out and go elsewhere to better serve constituents?

Another issue that comes to mind is whether the party concerned is sincere in maintaining its members by imposing such a bond, or is it more towards political vindictiveness.

Liberty to move

I feel the notion that a political party can impose any condition it wishes on its members is seriously flawed and needs to be reviewed.

Political parties are like associations and members should have the liberty to move on if they find the leaders in the party are no longer committed to the cause.

Many politicians become greedy after coming into power and this can affect their sense of judgement and the overall mission and vision of the party itself.

After all political party members serve the party for free and sacrifice plenty of time and effort, and thus they should be allowed to part ways without being penalised.

I would not want my representative to be part of any political party which has lost focus but would prefer him or her to move to a better party.

Perhaps imposing a small penalty may be acceptable, but RM10 million appears to be ridiculous.

To me, this whole episode appears to be nothing more than a mere vengeful act.

Zuraida should appeal the decision and hopefully, the higher court will see things differently.

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