July 30, 2022
THE Sarawak attorney-general will study consequent moves following the adoption of anti-party hopping laws by the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu senior vice-president Fadillah Yusof said.
He said this was because Sarawak already has a provision against party-hopping in the state constitution.
However, the provision cannot be implemented as it goes against the Federal Constitution, the Petra Jaya MP said.
“So when the Federal Constitution was amended (recently), the (state’s anti-party hopping) provision may now be enforced.
“It is now up to the Sarawak government to study whether to bring it in line with the law adopted at the federal level or contend with what it already has. This needs further legal study,” he told reporters after attending the opening ceremony of the Board of Engineers Malaysia secretariat office in Kuching today.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.3) 2022 on provisions prohibiting MPs from switching parties was approved by a two-thirds majority on Thursday.
Perlis Menteri Besar Azlan Man also said the state’s legal adviser’s views will be sought on whether there is a provision in the state constitution to implement anti-party hopping laws.
“The bill approved by the Dewan Rakyat is comprehensive and can be used by all states, so I think there is no problem in implementing it at the state level, but we will carry out a detailed study first.
“If necessary, maybe we will only make improvements to the state constitution and if it is not, we will introduce a new enactment that is in line with it,” he told reporters after the launch of state-level 2022 National Month and Fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign in Kangar today.
Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal said similar efforts to introduce anti-party hopping laws must be done in Sabah as party-hopping has become rampant and led to major changes in state and federal governments.
He said although the bill passed on Thursday probably requires further improvements, particularly where clarity on its provisions is concerned, the achievement by federal lawmakers is still a good enough start to curb party-hopping.
“Warisan will study the party constitution to ensure our struggles are in line with the bill and the Federal Constitution,” the former Sabah chief minister and Semporna MP told reporters in Kota Belud today.
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