‘Rakyat sick of jumping, Sarawak needs state-level anti-hopping law’

MIRI – Sarawak must enact and table its own anti-party hopping law in the state assembly to make it applicable to the state’s assemblymen.

Civil society groups Rise of Sarawak Efforts and Sarawak Bersih said the state assembly must officially adopt and gazette the anti-hopping law.

Its spokesman Ann Teo said a law to reflect the anti-hopping bill approved at the federal level must be put in place

“Amendments must then be made to the state constitution to disqualify state assembly representatives who defect from a party. This will then make the anti-party hopping law applicable in Sarawak.

“The state government has no reason not to enact such a law at the state level,” she said in a statement today.

“The federal side has done well in getting such a law in place as the rakyat are fed up and sick of politicians jumping from one party to another.”

Sarawak politicians have differing views on the need for the state to have a specific law to prevent elected state assembly members from jumping from one party to another.

There is no need for the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government to enact a law on anti-party hopping in the state, said a senior coalition leader.

Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) vice-president Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah yesterday also said that a specific law on the matter is not required.

“Since matters pertaining to public elections are federal matters, we in Sarawak do not need a law on anti party hopping,” he said. "The federal side has already enacted a law on this.

“We in Sarawak just follow the federal law,” he had told reporters in Kuching.

PBB is the backbone of the GPS ruling coalition, which is also made up of the Sarawak United People’s Party, Parti Rakyat Sarawak and the Progressive Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, Sarawak DAP yesterday expressed its disagreement over the matter, calling for the state to have a specific law due to cases of state assemblymen hopping from one party to another.

Its state chairman Chong Chieng Jen said GPS has no reason to be afraid of enacting a law on this.

“Even within the ruling coalition parties, there were cases of elected assemblymen jumping from one party to another.

“It is important that Sarawak has a similar law to deter politicians from moving from party to party after being elected by the people,” he said. – The Vibes, July 30, 2022