The defection of eight Perlis Keadilan leaders who recently defected back to Umno puzzles me. No matter how I try, I cannot seem to find even a reasonable excuse for them to do so. If these leaders are disillusioned with Keadilan, there is still no excuse for them to join Umno.

Frankly, the action of these politicians and supporters clearly show how opportunistic our political culture is, especially among the youth. How people can switch sides so quickly just before a crucial by-election is beyond me.

If they are disillusioned, they should have waited until after the election and even if they did not want to protest, they should not have joined Umno. To do both and come out to make a damaging statement (they accuse Keadilan without giving a real reason and evidence) is clearly an opportunist's act.

It seems that these young politicians are purely selfish and have no understanding or care of the role of a politician and being a political leader.

What strikes me is that these politicians seem to think their actions will have no impact on their political career. They do not care what the public thinks of them. They think that so long as they are part of the 'action' that sooner or later, they will do well. After all, Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad as well as Razaleigh Hamzah, Musa Hitam and Rais Yatim all have survived treacherous behaviour and thrived. Frankly, I suspect them to have a total, cynical disdain for the public (that is, a 'Mahathirism' breed of politicians).

We seem to be breeding a whole new generation of politicians that are going to do more damage to this country than what Mahathir and his cronies have done in the last 20 years. They care little for ideology, proper conduct, honour, rule of law, etc. What matters is political and ultimately material gain. Be part of the game and wait for handouts. Talk about aping the West! We really have adopted the worst political culture without their merits like meritocracy, transparency, accountability, etc.

Is it a wonder that university students spend so much time in politics that they fail the exams? They have no respect for merit and substance, just power and material.

They get a high from being in the action rather than the mundane, mind-bending, meritocractic studies in technology, facts and critical thinking. It feels cooler to be in stylish political movement without substance than to be cracking the books and doing real research and self-criticism.

It is no surprise that Umno accepts these people so readily because they themselves are the king of opportunistic politics without regards for honour, proper conduct and rule of law. It is a Mahathir heritage which we should record in history.