PAS pledges full support for changes

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has pledged its full support to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022, which will be tabled at a special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow, in the concerted move to curb party hopping among politicians.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the Bill is aimed at amending the Federal Constitution, especially Article 10(3) in relation to Article 10(1)(c) on freedom of association.

“Based on the case of Kelantan State Legislative Assembly vs Nordin Salleh & Anor, which was decided by the Supreme Court on April 3, 1992, any provision of law or State Constitution relating to anti-party hopping will be considered ultra vires the Federal Constitution as long as Article 10 is not amended to enable an Anti-Party Hopping Act to be formulated and approved by Parliament.

“Therefore, based on this policy, the Cabinet at its meeting on April 6, 2022, decided that the Special Parliament Sitting scheduled for April 11, 2022, should be held to amend Article 10 to enable an Act relating to party hopping to be tabled and approved by Parliament at another sitting,” he said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.

Takiyuddin, who is Energy and Natural Resources Minister, said the Cabinet also unanimously agreed that matters related to party hopping and its legal implications be incorporated in a comprehensive and detailed manner in a special Act of Parliament.

“This Act should include precise definitions, clear examples and concrete explanations to avoid any lacuna, abuse of power and likelihood of bias which may cause affected parties to challenge it in court,” added Takiyuddin, who was a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Parliament and law under the Perikatan Nasional-led Federal Government.

His successor, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said this week that the Anti-Party Hopping Bill would not be tabled in tomorrow’s special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat.

However, Wan Junaidi, in a statement issued together with joint chairman of Steering Committee on Transformation and Political Stability Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on Thursday, said the special sitting would still be held to table and debate the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022.