[UPDATED] Sabah assembly passes anti-hopping law

KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah assembly has passed the constitutional amendment bill to enforce anti-party hopping provisions, despite nays to one of the bill’s provisions that will allow the governor to appoint the chief minister.

All provisions in the Sabah Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2023 were passed unanimously except for the provision to remove Article 6(7) of the state constitution, for which a separate vote was taken.

The provision still went through, with 61 votes to 14, while four assemblymen were absent.

Warisan’s 14 assemblymen wanted Article 6(7) to be dropped from the amendment bill – in other words, to have it retained in the state constitution – as it states that the chief minister must be the leader of the political party that won the majority of seats in a state election.

However, the amendment bill had proposed that this clause be removed, on the grounds that it was no longer relevant in the present political situation.

Besides abolishing Article 6(7), the bill also removed Article 17(5), while inserting Article 17(A).

The removal of Clause 5 of Article 17 will now allow any assemblymen who switch parties to seek re-election if their seats had been vacated at any point of time. This does away with the previous five-term suspension from contesting elections.

Article 17(A), meanwhile, sets the grounds for an assemblyman’s disqualification. An assemblyman will be disqualified if they resign from a party, or when an independent assemblyman joins a party.

However, an assemblyman will keep their seat if the party is dissolved or has its registration cancelled.

The representative can also remain in their seat if they resign from their party to become speaker of the assembly or is expelled from the party.

Chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (Sulaman-GRS) when tabling the bill said the anti-party hopping law would not apply to the assembly’s six nominated assemblymen.

Controversy over removing Article 6(7) 

All Umno assemblymen, except for Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (Lamag-BN) who was absent, supported the removal of Article 6(7).

When tabling the bill, Hajiji explained that the rationale behind removing Article 6(7) was to allow the governor to appoint the chief minister when elections result in a hung assembly.

“When there is no party that has the majority to form the government, and a coalition (of parties) form the government, but when the state constitution is referred to, no party meets the requirement,” he said, referring to the clause that stipulated the chief minister must be the head of the party that won the majority of seats.

“This is why we need to omit this article. It will be much easier for the head of state to appoint a chief minister even if the party does not have a 50% majority,” he said.

The chief minister candidate will still need to command the support of the majority of assemblymen.

A total of 13 assemblymen from the government and opposition benches debated the amendment bill today.

A separate vote was called by opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal for the removal of Article 6(7), in which he proposed that the bill be voted on provision by provision. – The Vibes, May 25, 2023