KUCHING – Parti Aspirasi Sarawak has hailed the passing of the anti-party hopping bill which was green-lighted in the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday.
Party president Lina Soo told The Vibes that the passing of the bill, though it took a long time in coming, is better late than never.
She said lawmakers who change their stripes as and when they fancy and betray the trust of voters should leave their seats and the political arena for good.
“This will also help reduce political corruption where the lawmaker hops party for his own financial gain. So election becomes no more a responsibility to serve the rakyat, but becomes a get-rich-quick scam for the party hopper.
“But I am also puzzled as to why any action of a political party which leaves a coalition and joins another is not deemed as hopping.
Does this mean, now instead of buying one lawmaker or more, the whole party will have to be bought wholesale that it becomes acceptable and legitimate?” she asked.
“What is the difference between one or a group of lawmakers who hop, and the whole party which hops?
“If a lawmaker cannot hop from one party to another, can an entire party hop en masse from one coalition to another?
“Is this also not a factor that destabilises politics, and with higher stakes?” Soo questioned.
She pointed out that if one political party leaves the ruling government, which then lacks a majority to form the government, then Parliament should dissolve and pave the way for a new mandate from the people. – The Vibes, July 31, 2022
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