PETALING JAYA: Anti-party hopping laws in Malaysia should be reviewed, urges Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee after the Federal Court dismissed the party’s attempt to declare four Sabah parliamentary seats as vacant.
The Bersatu vice-president said he respected the court’s verdict that dismissed Bersatu's application to get leave to appeal the Parliament Speaker's refusal to declare as vacant four Sabah parliamentary seats won by the party's former members.
However, he said the decision has resulted in the anti-party hopping law being ineffective in its implementation.
“A law that has failed to convey the intent, spirit and objective of its formation is not just weak, but is akin to being a 'legal ornament' without true impact on the integrity of the democratic system and the people’s mandate,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday (Jan 9).
“This development requires the Parliament to study, amend and strengthen the law so that it will be able to prevent any treachery against the people’s mandate and guarantee political stability based on principle, accountability and responsibility.
“If the Parliament is not ready or brave enough to remedy this obvious weakness, it is better for the law to be abolished,” said Kiandee, who is also Sabah Perikatan Nasional chairman.
Earlier on Friday, the Federal Court dismissed Bersatu's application to get leave to appeal the Parliament Speaker's refusal to declare as vacant four Sabah parliamentary seats won by the party's former members.
In a 2-1 majority ruling, a three-judge panel rejected the application.
On April 17, 2023, Bersatu vice-presidents Kiandee and Datuk Capt (R) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya filed a judicial review application, naming Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and the four MPs in question, namely Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Jonathan Yasin (Ranau), and Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang) as respondents.
The four MPs, who were then with Bersatu, ran as direct members of the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition at GE15 in 2022, when Bersatu was part of GRS.
However, GRS dropped Bersatu as a coalition member after GE15.
Bersatu sought an order to quash Johari's decision, via a letter dated Jan 16, 2023, which stated the four MPs had given an explanation and confirmed there was no vacancy of their seats based on the interpretation of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Bersatu constitutions.
Bersatu had also sought a declaration that the four MPs had ceased to be members of the Dewan Rakyat in accordance with Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, as well as an order for Johari to confirm the four seats as vacant.
