KUALA LUMPUR – The Prime Minister’s Department is proposing to have another special Dewan Rakyat sitting on June 7 to debate the anti-party hopping legislation, pending on the nod by the newly minted select committee.
Law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told Malaysiakini that the date has to be agreed to by the parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) that he heads and the cabinet.
“A proposed schedule has been drawn up by the Legal Affairs Division. If the special select committee agrees to it, the schedule will serve as a guide. The schedule will also be tabled in the cabinet,” he was quoted as saying.
Following the special sitting on April 11, a PSSC was tasked with scrutinising constitutional amendments and definitions needed to introduce any anti-hopping legislation.
Wan Junaidi had said the PSSC was given a month to present its findings to Parliament but would have the autonomy to decide on the frequency of proceedings and whether a deadline extension would be required.
He added that other pending matters such as constitutional provisions to limit a prime minister’s tenure to two terms would also be discussed by the PSSC.
The PSSC, he said, would establish if Article 48(6) of the federal constitution, which prohibits any defecting lawmaker from competing in an election for five years, should be abolished.
Government-friendly representatives in the committee include two from Umno; Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman and Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz; Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin from Bersatu; Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan of PAS; and Lukanisman Awang Sauni of Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
Representatives from the opposition include DAP’s Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, PKR’s Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Kulim-Bandar Baharu), Amanah’s Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau (Tuaran), and Warisan’s deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking (Penampang). – The Vibes, April 14, 2022
