KUALA LUMPUR: The unanimous support given to the Anti-party hopping Bill in Parliament on Thursday (July 28) evening was similar to when the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) was passed in Parliament, says de-facto law minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of law and Parliament said that not even one MP opposed MA63 when it was passed in Parliament last December.
"This means that everyone in the House supported it (MA63). So, obviously, history has repeated itself as no one opposed the anti-hopping Bill this time. Only the numbers were different," said Wan Junaidi to reporters in Parliament after the Bill was passed.
Wan Junaidi said there were 199 MPs voting in support of MA63 in December last year.
"This time, for the anti-hopping law, there were 209 MPs voting in support during the second reading and 209 again for the third reading," added the Santubong MP.
Wan Junaidi said that now the anti-hopping Bill is passed in Parliament, it could be implemented by September once it’s passed at the Dewan Negara stage.
"In the first week of September, we hope this Bill will become a law," added Wan Junaidi.
At the same time, Wan Junaidi said there were concerns raised regarding the possibility of the anti-party hopping Bill not receiving the needed two-thirds majority support from the 148 MPs.
"I'm confident because I know that I had discussed this with every group. I would also like to thank the media for giving it extensive coverage at various stages," added Wan Junaidi.
Wan Junaidi also said the Special Parliamentary Select Committee (SPSC) had discussed at length over the Bill and it was decided that each state should have their respective prerogative on whether or not to implement the Bill at the state level.
"We decided that we do not want to supersede the powers of the respective state assemblies to dictate (this), though it (the anti-hopping Bill) has been passed," he said.
Wan Junaidi said four states - Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and Kelantan - have implemented the Bill in their respective states.
"There are nine more states that might follow suit," added Wan Junaidi.
Wan Junaidi also thanked his deputy Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and officers in his ministry for working on this Bill.
The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2022 was tabled for the first reading during a special one-day Dewan Rakyat sitting on April 11.
However, the Bill was referred to the SPSC for further scrutiny before being brought to the House again.
On Wednesday (July 27), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob tabled the Bill for the second reading.
Following two days of debates, which was participated by 54 MPs, the Bill was finally passed with 209 MPs voting in support and 11 MPs were absent.
The amendment comprises four paragraphs and six clauses.
Among them is a clause that MPs who defect from the political party they represented as election candidates or those who became independent will have to vacate their parliamentary seats.
However, there are exemptions for MPs who change political parties when their former parties have been deregistered, or if they are appointed to become Speakers of the House.
MPs who are sacked from political parties will not lose their seats. Also not affected by the law are MPs who vote against their party's wishes.
