KUALA LUMPUR – No anti-hopping law should penalise lawmakers from a single political party for forming alliances following a general election to get a simple majority for a federal government, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Langkawi-Pejuang).
The former prime minister said this is in the event that no single party or coalition has the majority support of MPs to take control of Putrajaya after the national polls conclude.
As such, he said, there should be a clear definition of what constitutes party-hopping when drafting such a provision.
“There are times during an election that no single party has enough MPs (to form a government),” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today when debating the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s speech.
“In such a situation, there is a need for some parties to join the one with the most lawmakers to achieve a simple majority.
“That is why we cannot just make party-hopping illegal in general, but there must be an explanation in what event an action can be described as such.”
Dr Mahathir said any such law should allow political parties to decide if they wish to be part of a bigger alignment to head the administration, provided they are in line with the party’s constitution.
In the same regard, he said MPs who have been sacked by their parties should also be allowed to join another political outfit and not be penalised.
“This issue must be studied in depth to ensure the Dewan Rakyat can operate smoothly, without distraction by certain members of the House.”
Earlier in his speech, the Pejuang chairman had taken aim at the Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob-led government, saying that while the Bera MP’s appointment was done based on the constitution, it is not in the spirit of democracy.
“What happened was that those rejected by the rakyat are now in the government, and those chosen are in the opposition. This negates the practice of democracy, where the rakyat should be the one electing the government.”
He said it was with this in mind that he supported the enacting of an anti-party hopping law.
Ismail Sabri was appointed the country’s ninth prime minister last month after his predecessor Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin lost majority support, following the withdrawal of a number of Umno MPs.
Muhyiddin himself came to power after the infamous Sheraton Move in February 2020, which saw the majority of Bersatu MPs crossing over from Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form the new government with Umno, PAS, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, among others.
PH had initially won the rights to Putrajaya after coming out victorious during the 2018 general election, the first time Barisan Nasional had ever lost federal power. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021
