[VIDEO] Tabling anti-hopping law first order of business if PH wins Melaka

MELAKA – An anti-hopping law will be the first motion tabled in the Melaka assembly if Pakatan Harapan (PH) comes to power in the state.

PKR information chief Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin assured that the motion will be the first item on PH’s reform agenda should it come to power.

The Paya Rumput candidate said the enactment of the law is to ensure stability of the new Melaka government post-election, and to prevent history from repeating itself.

“This is so it works in tandem with the federal-level MoU (memorandum of understanding). We will witness next year, God willing, the motion of anti-hopping laws in Parliament,” Shamsul, who is also a two-term Hang Tuah Jaya MP, told The Vibes. 

So based on this, we can give confidence to voters who fear that if they choose us again, they will see the current or elected assemblymen hop to other parties.”

The collapse of the Melaka government – not once, but twice since the last general election – is widely accepted as having been caused by “political frogs”.

In the recent Barisan Nasional (BN) state government’s downfall, four assemblymen withdrew support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali, leading to the state assembly being dissolved on October 4.

Despite warnings and calls for PH not to embrace party-hoppers from various quarters, PKR chose to field former Umno veterans Datuk Seri Idris Haron and Datuk Nor Azman Hassan as candidates in the state polls scheduled for November 20. 

Idris is running for the Asahan seat, while Nor Azman vies for Pantai Kundor. 

Other than Idris and Nor Azman, the “Melaka Four” also include Pengkalan Batu incumbent Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee and Telok Mas incumbent Datuk Effandi Ahmad of Bersatu.

Norhizam, formerly of DAP, was dropped from contesting under PH as DAP has stated its stand against party-hopping.

Asked about accepting Idris and Nor Azman into PKR, Shamsul stressed that they are not “party-hoppers”.

“It depends on what you define as party-hoppers. As far as Idris and Nor Azman are concerned, they just withdrew their support from the chief minister. They did not change parties.

“But after they did that, their party Umno did not want them anymore and sacked them,” he explained. 

Local boy not taking chances for granted

Despite contesting for the first time in the highly sought-after Paya Rumput seat, Shamsul is confident that voters will remain steadfast with PH as the coalition has maintained the same narrative since the 14th general election (GE14).

Although my father’s side of the family is from Paya Rumput, I am not saying it is an easy go for me as well because I am also a new candidate here.

“So, five candidates in one state seat is something we need to deal with because we will see the segmentation of voters, Malays and non-Malays. In Paya Rumput, the majority is the Malay community, and such composition suits PKR because we are a multiracial party.

“I am hopeful that the voters will continue to show support for us as they did in GE14,” he added.

Shamsul is tangled in a fierce battle in the state seat, where he will be facing four opponents – BN’s Datuk Rais Yasin, Muhammad Faris Izwan Mazlan from Perikatan Nasional, Mohd Hashidi Mohd Zin from Putra, and independent Mohd Jaini Dimon.

He appealed to the voters to cast their ballots wisely and give PH the mandate, saying “it is not trial and error”.

“It’s a five-year government. Of course, the Melakans have experience. They have experienced 22 months under the PH administration before the betrayal, and they have also felt the 19 months under Sulaiman and, of course, other leaders.

“Based on these experiences, we hope the voters can give us a clear mandate on who they want to lead the state government. 

“If we have that, it will make it easy for us to form the government and proceed with our agenda, which has been abandoned for the past two years,” he added.

The Election Commission has fixed November 20 for voting, with early voting on November 16. Nominations were held last Monday. – The Vibes, November 12, 2021