Ongkili: Sabah must quickly follow suit to stop crossovers

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah, where party-hopping has seen the rise and fall of state governments over five decades, must adopt anti-crossover laws in its constitution, says Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili.

The Parti Bersatu Sabah president said that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led state government must pass the Anti-Hopping Law at the state level within 60 days.

“This needs to be done within the next two months, and our seven PBS assemblymen are ready to lead in the tabling of the Anti-Hopping Law enactment at the Sabah state legislative assembly sitting,” he said yesterday.

His statement came shortly after the Dewan Rakyat passed the Anti-Hopping Law with the 209 MPs giving their approval.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) said it was necessary for Sabah and Sarawak to follow suit as the federal anti-hopping law did not apply to the two Borneo state legislative assemblies.

“Sabah and Sarawak need to table the law at their respective state levels,” Ongkili added.

Describing the passing of the anti-hopping law as a “dream come true,” he said that PBS has been pushing for it for the last 37 years and the passing of the Bill was a recognition of the party’s struggle to ensure political stability.During the PBS rule of the state government from 1985 to 1994, PBS passed an anti-hopping law in 1988 but the enactment could not be enforced after the Federal Court ruled that assemblymen had the right to freedom of association.

The enactment was repealed from the state constitution in 1995 when Barisan Nasional took over the state government.

Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who led PBS then, was forced to resign as chief minister after the February 1994 state elections when PBS assemblymen crossed over to Barisan just three weeks after PBS had retained the state government.