Parties made aware of loopholes in anti-hop law before its passage, says Wan Junaidi

PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar says that despite the anti-party hopping law's perceived shortcomings, all parties, including Perikatan Nasional, acknowledged and accepted it at its passage.

The former law minister told Astro Awani that when the bill was drafted, he had insisted on including a clause that MPs would automatically vacate their seat if they went against the stand of their respective parties in the dewan Rakyat but this was later removed.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently criticised the anti-party hopping law as deficient and lacked a course of action against MPs who opposed their party line but refused to quit.

His remark came following declarations of support by four MPs of Bersatu for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's government.

Muhyiddin called for a review of the law, saying it contained critical weaknesses that could be exploited.

Wan Junaidi told Astro Awani that the draft of the law had been under scrutiny by a parliamentary committee for nearly two months.

According to him, two clauses were eliminated to guarantee the bill's approval: one that obligated MPs to forsake their seats if they went against their party or disobeyed directives from party whips.

"We wouldn't have secured a two-third majority without PN's support.

"We were fully aware of these issues and had alerted everyone as early as September 2021," Wan Junaidi added, telling Astro Awani that he had already foreseen that MPs might exploit the loophole.

The MPs from Bersatu who recently announced their support for Anwar Ibrahim are Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid on Oct 12, Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman on Oct 30, Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim on Nov 7 and Jeli MP Zahari Kechik on Nov 8.

The four continue to hold their seats as they had not switched parties.