April 11, 2022
The anti-hopping bill will be tabled and passed in Parliament before the end of May, says the Pakatan Harapan presidential council.
It said the decision on the matter was reached after discussions with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Yesterday, Ismail said the proposed law to ban party-hopping by MPs would be tabled in July. FMT has contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.
“The council reiterates its stance that the anti-hopping law is one of the key conditions in the memorandum of understanding (MoU),” the presidential council said in a statement today.
It said the constitutional amendment tabled today will be referred to a bipartisan parliamentary select committee.
“The committee will be tasked with scrutinising, refining and proposing a draft to amend the Federal Constitution and an anti-hopping bill to the Cabinet within a month,” it said.
The council said Article 48 (6) of the Constitution, which forbids any MP from contesting any parliamentary election for the next five years if he resigns from his seat, will be examined to come up with the best solution in line with the anti-hopping bill.
It also said an amendment to Article 10 of the Constitution, regarding the right of association, must be refined so that it involves only the anti-hopping bill.
“PH is committed to the process by ensuring that an amendment to the Constitution and the anti-hopping bill will be successfully tabled and approved in Parliament, to restore the people’s confidence in the electoral process and ensure the future of democracy in Malaysia,” it said.
It was reported yesterday that a parliamentary select committee will be formed to draft the anti-hopping law. It will include representatives from the government, the opposition and possibly academicians with expertise on the matter, according to Ismail.
He said there are also proposals for the new law to cover senators, but this is subject to the approval of the Dewan Negara president.
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Anti-hopping law to be tabled and passed by end-May, says PH