KUALA LUMPUR – Former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has proposed a recall elections act to prevent elected lawmakers from defecting to other parties after they are voted in by their constituents.
The legislation, the Pengerang MP said, would allow voters to withdraw their mandate to elected representatives who have turned their backs on them.
“I am very pleased with the discussions between the government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and the opposition and independent MPs to introduce an anti-hopping law.
“However, the right to choose a new people’s representative or to retain the representative should be returned to the voters,” she said in a Facebook post today.
Azalina, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, said she intends to submit a notice of motion entitled the “Recall Election Bill 2021” to the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
“I hope this motion will be the starting point to introduce ‘recall elections’ in the September parliamentary sitting.
“In addition, I also intend to propose the establishment of a ‘caucus of parliamentary reform and multi-party democracy’ among MPs who are interested. This is to strengthen the institution of Parliament and to uphold its democracy in the country,” Azalina added.
Azalina also said that there have been many occasions where elected representatives have not only turned their backs on their political parties but also the grassroots. They include constituents who have struggled to canvas votes for their favoured candidates by going door to door, as well as those who cast their ballots by placing trust in the candidates as representatives of specific political parties and manifestos.
“Many people have asked about what is the meaning of voting if the elected rep can pawn off the people’s mandate after the election,” she said.
“Leaders of my generation should accept that competition between political parties is positive and beneficial to the people if this competition is based on reasonable rules of the game, and not triggered by political parties splitting up.
“Political competition should be noble, and not eliminated or be filled with hatred or chaos,” she said.
She also expressed appreciation to Bersih 2.0 for its research, which has helped the public understand the mechanism for recall elections. – The Vibes, September 1, 2021
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