KUALA LUMPUR – The opposition and the government had agreed to put the planned constitutional amendments and the anti-party hopping bill to a vote before the end of May this year, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council said today.
The council said the decision was made during a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar earlier this morning.
The decision to defer today’s vote was to allow more time to refine the proposed amendments to the constitution to ensure it is limited to enabling and is in line with the spirit of the planned anti-party hopping law, the council said.
The council said the opposition and government also agreed for a bipartisan parliamentary special select committee to refine and propose new drafts of the constitutional amendments and the anti-party hopping law to the cabinet within one month.
“The presidential council reiterates its position that the anti-party hopping law is a primary condition of the memorandum of understanding on political transformation and stability,” it said in a statement.
Earlier, Wan Junaidi told Parliament that there would be no vote called during the special sitting today on proposed constitutional amendments aimed at creating the legal foundation for an anti-party hopping law.
The government was earlier panned over the constitutional amendments, which critics warned would give the ruling administration powers that were “too wide and dangerous”. – The Vibes, April 11, 2022