Outlawing party hopping pre-GE15
Minister keen for Bill to be tabled, passed before next general election to avoid repeat of 2018
If we have GE before the law is in place, there is a risk of (politicians) hopping left and right.
Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
KUCHING: The anti-party hopping law must be tabled and adopted before the 15th general election (GE15) to put a stop to elected representatives switching parties like what had happened in 2018.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in saying this hoped Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will convene a special sitting on this Bill as soon as possible. However, he said it is up to the prime minister whether to table the Bill at the July sitting of the Dewan Rakyat or earlier at a special sitting.
“We will have a special sitting, but we leave it to the prime minister. The date set is according to Regulations 11(3) Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara,” the Santubong MP said when met at an engagement programme with the community at Penview Convention Centre here yesterday.
“Some suggested to wait until the July parliament sitting, and some voiced out to have it earlier. So, we leave it to the prime minister (on the date).
“If you ask me, I would prefer to have the law implemented first (before GE15) so that what happened in 2018 would not happen again this year or in 2023. If we have GE before the law is in place, there is a risk of (politicians) hopping left and right,” he added.
Wan Junaidi, who heads the select committee for the antihopping Bill, said he is confident with the ability of the committee which comprises law experts like Gobind Singh Deo and Mohamed Hanipa Maidin from Pakatan Harapan; Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz and Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said from Barisan Nasional; Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan from Parti Islam SeMalaysia; and himself.
“We are all equipped with legal background and decades of experience in the field, and we can resolve any issues,” he said.
Wan Junaidi also said he could not elaborate on the proposed anti-hopping law as the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 85 prevents disclosure of a Bill before a report is presented to the House.
The Bill on anti-party hopping had been scheduled to be tabled on April 11 during the Parliament sitting then but was postponed, with Wan Junaidi explaining that more time was needed to deliberate the definition of ‘partyhopping’.
On April 23 at a breaking-offast event here, Wan Junaidi was reported saying that compared with the constitutional amendments surrounding the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the drafting of the anti-party hopping Bill was more complex, as the select committee needed to avoid contravening Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which covers freedom of association.
He said the process in drafting the Bill was tedious as some quarters worried that it would open the door for abuse of power by the government in the future, if it was not properly drafted and worded.