KUALA LUMPUR: No government backbenchers are against the proposed anti-hopping law which will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat later this week, says Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
"They are comfortable with the proposed laws and no one (spoke of rejecting it) during the briefing session.
"After all, they too want such laws," the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) told a press conference held at Parliament's media centre on Monday (July 25).
Wan Junaidi said this was the feedback from government backbenchers following an engagement session in Parliament earlier in the day to brief them on the matter.
ALSO READ: Anti-Party Hopping Bill: Debate on July 27, says Wan Junaidi
A similar engagement session will be held for Opposition MPs on Tuesday (July 26).
He said the proposed law would be debated on Wednesday (July 27) and is scheduled to be passed on Thursday (July 28) at about 5.30pm.
Prior to this, there was talk of resistance from certain quarters in Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia on the proposed law when the government intended to table it in March.
The dissatisfaction centred on the possibility of the law being too wide which could be abused by political parties to silence dissent within their ranks.
ALSO READ: Bill on party-hopping for political stability, says Wan Junaidi
On April 11, the government tabled the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat during a special one-day sitting to amend the constitution to provide for anti-hopping provisions.
Although debated, no vote was taken by the House with the Bill instead referred to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) for further scrutiny.
The PSSC, made up of MPs representing several political parties, agreed that party hopping would be dealt through constitutional amendments without the need for separate laws.
Wan Junaidi said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob would table a motion on Wednesday to present the PSSC report, which details the workings on how the proposal was drafted, to the House.
He said the House would conduct two separate voting sessions after the debates have concluded.
"There will be a vote on the PSSC report which requires a simple majority vote.
"A second vote will be held for the proposed constitutional amendments which will require a two-thirds majority,” he said.
Wan Junaidi maintained the proposed anti-hopping law could be enforced by early September once passed by both Houses of Parliament and receiving royal consent and a date of gazettement.
He said the law would only cover MPs and must be adopted by the respective state governments for it to apply to state elected representatives.
