PETALING JAYA: Incidents of the government changing three times in one term will be a thing of the past once the anti-hopping law is passed by Parliament and gazetted, says law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
“Our goal is to prevent the federal government from changing three times in one parliamentary term as it affects stability,” he told Bernama.
He said the bill, expected to be tabled by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Wednesday, was the best measure by the government to avoid a political crisis in the country.
“It is not intended to prevent the people from practising democracy. Its purpose is to ensure that MPs do not do as they please and to show they have principles.
“What is important is that the wish of the people to elect representatives remains, together with the interests of the constituency and the country.”
He cited several countries that had legal provisions to deal with the issue of party-hopping, such as the UK, India, Singapore, and New Zealand.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022 on prohibition of parliamentary members from party-hopping is being awaited eagerly as the frequency of switching parties after elections has been the worst during the current parliamentary term.
The amendment is also one of the key clauses in the memorandum of understanding between Pakatan Harapan and Ismail.
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