Law minister lists three criteria for anti-hopping law

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Law minister lists three criteria for anti-hopping law, applicable on indie reps who later join parties

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar today clarified to the Senate the three main criteria, as contained in the administrative draft of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, that define party hopping by a Member of Parliament.

He said the first criteria is when a member of parliament announces leaving the political party he/she contested for in an election to be an Independent member or join another political party.

“The second is when a Member of Parliament is expelled from the political party. This is for the purpose of ensuring that MPs abide by the constitution, as well as the party rules and regulations.

“The party that sacked the Member of Parliament concerned will face the risk of losing the seat and an election will have to be held again," he said in response to a question from Senator Datuk John Ambrose.

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Recall Act a better option to protect representative democracy – Datuk Chong Sin Woon

THERE exists an unalterable consensus amongst Malaysians that go beyond the political divide to put an end to the culture of party-hopping, underpinned by a willingness to come together to explore a long-term solution to defend the sanctity of representative democracy and restore faith in Malaysian elections.

In order to effectively keep party-hopping in check, from a legal point of view, we have two options: anti-hopping laws or recall laws.

Generally speaking, anti-hopping laws act like a sledgehammer against party-switching, regardless of motivations or causations, so long as the parliamentarian is no longer a member of the party he or she contested under, his or her seat is automatically vacated, triggering a by-election. This creates two complications.

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Fahmi fears no-show by govt MPs on anti-hopping bill

PETALING JAYA: An opposition MP has expressed fears of retaliation by government MPs pulling a no-show against an opposition-backed bill to outlaw party-hopping by elected politicians.

Fahmi Fadzil of PKR said he fears that some MPs of the ruling coalition would pull support from the bill in retaliation for the recent parliamentary defeat of an extension of a controversial Sosma security law.

“When the anti-hopping bill is tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on April 11, they might do the same thing (as when Pakatan Harapan (PH) did not support Sosma),” he was quoted as saying in a China Press report.

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39 MPs have switched political parties since 2018, says Wan Junaidi

KUCHING: A total of 39 MPs have switched political allegiance since 2018, says law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said this had led to political instability in Malaysia, with the country witnessing three prime ministers being appointed in a single parliamentary term.

“This has not brought about political stability in the country. When there is political instability, then the economy becomes difficult to manage.

“When we are facing Covid-19, this instability becomes a huge problem,” he told reporters after attending a briefing on the Muara Tebas embankment project in Kampung Muara Tebas here today.

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Anti-Par Wty Hopping Bill:an Junaidi satisfied with cooperation by Opposition members, legal experts

KUCHING, April 24 — De facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he is satisfied with the cooperation by opposition members and legal experts in the ongoing dialogue to draft the Anti-Party Hopping Bill.

“You see, we interacted with many Members of Parliament (MPs) and there were a lot of ideas. But at the end of the day, we have to see it as a matter of principle, like what are the particular principles that people will agree with,” said the Santubong MP.

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Make deliberations on anti-hopping bill public, says Bersih

PETALING JAYA: Deliberations on the proposed anti-hopping law (AHL) by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) should be made public, said electoral reform group Bersih.

Urging the committee to end the “secrecy culture” in law-making, Bersih reminded it that the involvement of the public was necessary because the laws affected them.

“Bersih urges the committee on the anti-hopping bill to inform and involve the public so that the resultant bill will meet the public’s expectation and necessary compromises will enjoy public support,” the Bersih steering committee said in a statement.

The group also called on the committee to not apply laws such as the Official Secrets Act to restrict legislative deliberations and obstruct the public’s knowledge about the bill’s progress.

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Bersih submits 8 proposals on anti-hopping law to Parliament

PETALING JAYA: Electoral reform group Bersih has given eight recommendations to the parliamentary select committee (PSC) drafting the anti-hopping law.

In a written submission, Bersih said it had proposed that constituents be given the power to decide whether the elected representative should be asked to vacate the seat for the following reasons:

• defecting to another party;
  
• resigns or is sacked from his party;
  
• convicted for non-compoundable offences;
  
• convicted for compoundable offences and sentenced to be imprisoned, and the appeal period expires without the conviction being overturned on appeal, notwithstanding having received a free pardon, except for offences under the Sedition Act 1948, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Sections 211 and 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012; and,
  
• being absent for 50% of the legislative assembly/parliamentary sitting days in a period of six months, notwithstanding being granted leave of absence.
  

Bersih held that the recall mechanism to remove an elected representative was “the best remedy” to solve the problem of party hopping.

It said this would make elected representatives more accountable and allow the party system to stabilise.

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Anti-hopping law won’t apply to MPs sacked by parties, says minister

PETALING JAYA: The long-awaited anti-hopping law, slated to be tabled in July, will not apply to MPs who are sacked by their parties, says law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

According to Berita Harian, Wan Junaidi said MPs sacked by their parties would be able to retain the seats they had won in the elections.

However, he said the anti-hopping law would come into effect if MPs were to quit the party they had contested under to join another party or become an independent.

It would also affect MPs who won their seats as independents during the elections but joined a party after that.

In these cases, the MP’s seat would be automatically vacated.

Wan Junaidi added that he expected the anti-hopping bill to be tabled in mid-July during the second Dewan Rakyat meeting of the year.

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No stopping parties from switching sides, say MP, lawyer

PETALING JAYA: A PKR leader and a lawyer have sought to explain why the proposed anti-hopping law would not prevent another Sheraton Move, noting that it was never aimed at doing so.

Subang MP Wong Chen said the anti-hopping bill was mooted to prevent elected MPs from betraying their parties, not to stop political entities from crossing the aisle.

“The anti-hopping bill is not designed to prevent another Sheraton Move. The problem is when an individual jumps parties,” he told FMT.

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Anti-hopping bill finalised, special sitting mooted for first week of July

KUALA LUMPUR – The Parliament Special Select Committee (PSSC) deliberating on the anti-hopping law was finally able to finalise the draft bill that would outlaw party defections, said de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. 

This comes close to two months after the committee was established to scrutinise the proposed law, which would also see an amendment made to the Federal Constitution. 

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said the PSSC has also unanimously agreed to suggest that a special Parliament sitting be held in the first week of July. – The Vibes, June 8, 2022

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