Party hopping has become common practice in the Malaysian political system. Election seasons are notorious for rumours of MPs being offered positions in government, millions of ringgit, and more, to switch political allegiances. These corrupt practices are endemic and must be curbed.
While an MP does have the freedom to associate, the often underhanded ways in which this occurs leaves voters feeling betrayed and risks eroding the trust of the public in the election process. It reached its head in 2020 when several political betrayals caused the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan federal government.
An anti-hopping law must be introduced which includes mechanisms that allow for an MP to switch parties while also preserving the integrity of the electoral process. This may include a process for new elections when such changes happen. In any case, the main goal must be to increase transparency and curb the corrupt practices used to buy over MPs, this is where money politics must be eliminated.
April 06, 2021 (PN) Umno and DAP politicians urged for recall elections – a system that allows voters in a constituency to remove their elected representative before the end of his or her term to prevent party-hopping Related news: Recall elections to prevent party-hopping – Umno, DAP reps agree
February 28, 2021 (PN) Two opposition members of Parliament (MPs) today handed over their statutory declarations (SDs) to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to express support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government. Related news: Muhyiddin: Two opposition MPs express support for PN
February 26, 2021 (PN) Sebatik assemblyman Hassan A Gani Pg Amir of Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) last night announced that he was quitting the party, accusing it of playing politics to the detriment of the people’s wellbeing. Hassan A Gani said he is now an independent assemblyman who supports the Sabah government under Gabungan Rakyat […]
July 14, 2020 (PN) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that PN will study it in detail if this is necessary. The government needs to study the need for an anti-hopping law as freedom of association for every citizen is still guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, says Minister in the […]
March 6, 2021 (PN) Wanita MCA Chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie has called for an anti-hopping law to be enacted before the next general election (GE15). She revealed that up to 27.5 per cent of MPs (60) had switched political parties since GE14. Labelling such MPs as “political frogs”, Datuk Heng during her speech at […]
November 24, 2020 (PN) The government currently does not see a need to create new laws to prevent Malaysia’s elected lawmakers from hopping to another political party after being voted in, but will study it in detail if such laws become necessary in the future, a minister appears to have indicated. “At this time, the […]
September 16, 2020 (PN) The parliamentary whips of all parties agreed “in principle” to push for a legal amendment to the Election Commission Act 1957 to enforce a party-list system, where voters would elect parties rather than individuals. The former facto law minister, who leads the bipartisan parliamentary caucus on electoral reforms, told Malay Mail […]
August 18, 2020 (PN) MPs from both political divides today announced the forming of a bipartisan parliamentary caucus to reform the country’s electoral system, which includes addressing party-hopping. Chaired by Umno’s Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, the caucus has been given six months to gather views from relevant stakeholders before tabling the recommendations […]
July 31, 2020 (PN) Stunned by political developments in Sabah, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to immediately investigate allegations that elected representatives were offered millions of ringgit to switch allegiances. C4 Center is disturbed by several Sabah elected representatives claiming harassment and being offered […]
July 22, 2020 (PN) Veteran Umno lawmaker Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has proposed an amendment to the Election Commissions Act for political parties to directly contest for seats instead of individuals. He added that the current government was not a government for the people but for the party hoppers and lauded Nazri’s wisdom, saying that […]
