12-19-2022, 10:53 AM
Lack of definition on ‘ceasing to be party member’ a major drawback
![[Image: PARLIAMENT-dewan-rakyat-bernama-25062021.jpg]](https://s3media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PARLIAMENT-dewan-rakyat-bernama-25062021.jpg)
PETALING JAYA: A constitutional law expert says the major flaw of the anti-hopping law is that it does not define what is meant by “ceasing to be a member of a political party”.
Shad Saleem Al Faruqi said the amendment to Article 49 of the Federal Constitution, by which the anti-hopping law came into force, was made with the intention of improving party discipline and curtailing the freedom of the MPs to move from one party to another.
“However, its great weakness is that it does not define what amounts to ‘ceasing to be a member of a political party’. Therefore, the party’s internal rules will apply to determine what causes cessation of membership,” he said.
He was commenting on an FMT report in which lawyer Andrew Khoo said the automatic resignation clause in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) among parties in the unity government may be legally suspect and unconstitutional.
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Shad Saleem Al Faruqi said the amendment to Article 49 of the Federal Constitution, by which the anti-hopping law came into force, was made with the intention of improving party discipline and curtailing the freedom of the MPs to move from one party to another.
“However, its great weakness is that it does not define what amounts to ‘ceasing to be a member of a political party’. Therefore, the party’s internal rules will apply to determine what causes cessation of membership,” he said.
He was commenting on an FMT report in which lawyer Andrew Khoo said the automatic resignation clause in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) among parties in the unity government may be legally suspect and unconstitutional.
- More -