Proposal to table Bill at special sitting in early July

PETALING JAYA: The anti-party hopping law could be passed in early July, well ahead of the July 31 deadline set by Opposition parties.

The Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) has proposed that the Bill be tabled at a one-day special Dewan Rakyat sitting in early July rather than wait for the scheduled meeting from July 18 until Aug 4.

All eyes will now be on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to see if he does go ahead with the proposal.

“The committee has unanimously agreed to request the Prime Minister, in line with Standing Order 11(3) and House rules, that a special parliamentary sitting is held in the first week of July,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in a statement yesterday.

Wan Junaidi, who is charge of Parliament and Law, said this was agreed by the PSSC during a meeting on Tuesday to finalise the proposed anti-hopping draft laws for Cabinet approval.

If Ismail Sabri agrees, this will be the second time a special one-day Dewan Rakyat sitting is held to resolve the issue of party hopping.

On April 11, the special one-day sitting was held to table amendments to the Constitution to tackle the issue of party hopping.

However, no vote was taken with the proposed laws despite heated debates with the matter referred to the PSSC for further refinement instead.

Last Tuesday, Wan Junaidi announced that the proposed anti-hopping law would be done by way of constitutional amendments through the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022.

He said that there was a need for separate specific laws to deal with party hopping.

If passed at a one-day special sitting in early July, the anti-hopping law could be enforced as early as September this year.

Among the proposed amendments is that a by-election is to be held within 60 days if a Member of Parliament (MP) party hops or voluntarily resigns from his party.

Also to be amended is Article 10 of the Federal Constitution on freedom of association aimed at preventing party hopping.

This will be by way of a new provision 3A added under Article 10 to restrict the freedom of association in relation to membership in a political party by elected representatives.

Also to be introduced is a new Article 49A where a “casual vacancy” would occur if an MP party hops, resigns from his or her party or if an elected independent MP joins a party.

The proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution will require two-thirds majority support in the Dewan Rakyat or 148 votes out of the current 220 MPs.

A total of 39 elected representatives have switched parties since the last general election in 2018, resulting in political instability and the collapse of several state governments.

Last September, the government inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pakatan Harapan to initiate reforms that includes tabling proposed anti-hopping laws in Parliament before July 31 this year.

There have been calls from several quarters, including political parties, for the anti-hopping laws to be ready before the coming general election.

Several MPs from both sides of the political divide were against the initial proposal that an MP who is expelled from his party would also lose his seat.

Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi said that PSSC has responded to several policy questions raised by the Cabinet on June 1 on the proposed draft laws.

He added that the committee will be holding its final meeting soon before submitting the proposed drafts laws for the Cabinet’s approval and date of its tabling in Parliament.

He noted that the bipartisan PSSC, which he chairs, had succeeded in completing the mandate given by Parliament in seeking a solution to end party hopping.