April 11, 2022
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has suggested that the definition of party-hopping be enshrined in the Federal Constitution instead of as an Act so that it would be safeguarded by a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Debating the bill on the constitutional amendment to facilitate the tabling of the anti-hopping law, Yii said this step was necessary to prevent the definition of party-hopping from being simply amended by any government in power with a simple majority.
“If we refine Article 10 (of the Federal Constitution) by including the operative word ‘defection’, it will ensure that only the Anti-Hopping Act will be used in Article 10.
“If we keep the definition of party-hopping in the Act, any government in the future can amend the definition with a simple majority. And we know that every federal government has had a simple majority.
“So for me, the definition of party-hopping, especially on defections, has to be enshrined as a fundamental structure in the Federal Constitution to give it the two-thirds majority protection. This will safeguard the definition itself,” he said.
Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of association. However, it also empowers Parliament to restrict this right on grounds of national security.
The proposed amendment to Article 10, which is being debated in the lower house, contains a new clause that provides the power for federal laws to be enacted to restrict the membership in a political party.
The government has said that the Constitution must be amended to provide the power to table the anti-hopping bill, which opposition parties have been clamouring for.
Several MPs have criticised the constitutional amendment, including Subang MP Wong Chen, who said it was “too wide” and needed to be “tightened and narrowed in the context of anti-hopping”.
But Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday said government parties were backing the amendment, with Pakatan Harapan also pledging its support.
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