[UPDATED] Sacked MPs, those from disbanded parties exempt from anti-hopping law: PM

KUALA LUMPUR – The anti-party hopping bill is set to have several exceptions, including for MPs who may be fired from their parties, and if a party is disbanded or cancels its registration, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob during its tabling in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Another exception involves the exit of MPs from their parties when they are chosen to be the Dewan Rakyat speaker as this will not fall under party-hopping.

Today, the lower House is debating the historic bill as it finally sees light after months of engagement with MPs from both sides of the aisle.

The bill was drafted by the select committee and printed by Parliament and not the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Besides that, Ismail Sabri said the usage of political party or coalition symbols will not be considered by the provisions, adding that the legislation will not be applied retrospectively after it is passed.

In laying out the constitutional amendments’ parameters, he said MPs who jump from parties in the same or different coalitions will have their MP status revoked, as with those who switch from being a party representative to contesting for elections as an independent candidate. 

“An MP’s membership with the Dewan Rakyat is dependent on their belonging to a political party, regardless of whether the party is part of a coalition or if they are a direct member of the coalition party,” he said.

The bill was among the matters agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability signed between the federal government and opposition leaders in September last year as a form of bipartisan cooperation, which upholds the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia.

The bill had previously been tabled in Parliament on April 11, but the Dewan Rakyat had then agreed to refer it to a parliamentary special select committee for further deliberation before putting it up for vote. 

The government had initially planned to pass the law then, but was forced to postpone it after resistance from certain quarters in the cabinet, who disagreed with the current definition of party-hopping. – The Vibes, July 27, 2022