Still no rest for Wan Junaidi despite passing of Bill

PUTRAJAYA: It may have come at a cost of sleepless nights, but for Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, seeing the anti-party hopping Bill being passed in Parliament was well worth the sacrifice.

However, his work is far from done.

The drafting of the Bill took nearly a year and involved numerous engagements with stakeholders, but a sheer display of bipartisan determination made sure the legislation could become a reality, said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law).

To see the Bill passed unanimously by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara was undoubtedly a proud moment for the veteran politician from Gabungan Parti Sarawak.

“The anti-hopping law is a main element of the bipartisan memorandum of understanding (MOU). Because both the government and opposition were determined to see this law passed, we were able to secure a consensus in Parliament.

“The MOU is a form of confidence of supply agreement (CSA) practised in other Parliaments in the world.

“These agreements are not binding and not enforceable. So this requires a gentlemen’s agreement, and not many countries have succeeded in pulling this off.

“But our determination made this happen. This episode was a good display of the level of maturity from our politicians,” said Wan Junaidi at his office yesterday.

The Santubong MP gave credit to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, whose first step after taking over as Prime Minister last year was to come up with a bipartisan agreement with opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan.

“The Prime Minister’s decision gave birth to the MOU and he has been very supportive of our efforts to see the anti-hopping law passed.

“I would say the implementation of the MOU was a success, with about 80% of its contents achieved.

“The era where government knows best is over. You cannot bulldoze ideas any more. You need to hear all views when implementing policies. Even if you are a powerful government, it is good to have a consensus.

“But this episode has been a good experience. It will be in my book when it gets published!” said Wan Junaidi.

He has more to do.

“My friends said now I can finally sleep well after the law was passed. I told them, my job is not done yet! The anti-hopping law is still not gazetted. And there are other laws to table, such as the political funding Bill. So no rest for me yet!” said Wan Junaidi.