KUALA LUMPUR – The planned amendments to the federal constitution to make way for an anti-party hopping law must not be allowed, as it could grant broad powers to the government to remove elected representatives on a whim, young voters association Undi18 said today.
Yesterday, lawyer New Sin Yew took to Twitter to raise concerns about the proposed constitutional amendments that will be tabled on Monday, warning that it will mean elected representatives will lose their freedom of association when it comes to membership in political parties.
1. The Gov’s proposed constitutional amendment to “enable” anti hopping law (AHL) is very dangerous. It does not even stop anti hopping and it allows the Gov to abuse its power to control other political parties. pic.twitter.com/5lqnsZMr9M
— Sin Yew (@S_Y_New) April 8, 2022
Undi18 said allowing the amendments would be akin to granting a “blank cheque” to whoever leads the government in controlling membership of all MPs and state assemblymen in political parties.
“For example, a regulation could be put in place to sack members from political parties if they have had prior fines or (have been) previously detained by police under whatever acts determined by the government,” the group said in a statement.
Earlier today, PKR’s Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar also raised similar concerns about the planned amendments, warning that it may end up granting perpetual powers to the government to strip elected representatives of seats.
“How much of this amendment is dependent on the govt’s good faith & good intentions? If that’s all it depends upon, then it’s resting on shifting sands,” she said in a tweet.
How much of this amendment is dependent on the govt’s good faith & good intentions? If that’s all it depends upon, then it’s resting on shifting sands. It gives federal govt power -in perpetuity -to strip MPs of seats. We need to revise this legislative strategy @WongChenPKR https://t.co/nAYve02ReB
— Nurul Izzah Anwar ?? ? (@n_izzah) April 8, 2022
The government will table its proposed amendments to the federal constitution at a special parliamentary meeting on Monday. The government said the amendments are necessary to establish the legal jurisdiction needed to create the much-awaited anti-party hopping law.
The government had initially planned to also table the anti-party hopping law on Monday, but decided to defer it after strong pushback from several cabinet members seeking for a deeper study into the law. – The Vibes, April 9, 2022
