KUALA LUMPUR - The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) said the implementation of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No 3) 2022 and the provision banning MPs from party-hopping which was passed, need improvement.
In a statement, Bersih said there were at least two weaknesses in the bill which needed to be immediately fixed.
It said the first weakness was that the bill did not address issues related to parties which formed alliances after the election.
"The Sheraton move happened as a result of Bersatu leaving Pakatan Harapan and then forming the Perikatan Nasional government with the support of the Muafakat Nasional coalition by Umno and Pas.
"The second weakness was that the elected representatives who were sacked were not included because of the vacancy of the seats.
"By excluding those who were dismissed from the definition of party-hopping, the law will be weak as the representatives who turned against the party would not step down and will wait until they were sacked to retain the seat,” it said.
Bersih also emphasised that the best mechanism to deal with the party-hopping was the Recall Law, in which the seats of the representatives involved would not automatically be vacated.
"The decision on whether the people's representatives should remain or not, was in the hands of the rakyat through a procedure or petition.
"It further strengthens the power and ensures that the people are always aware of the performance of their elected representatives because the basis of dismissal is not only limited to party-hopping.
"Even though there is such bill, it will not be fully effective if the voters look at the the representatives as the welfare officer rather than their role which involved the enactment of policies,” it said.
Meanwhile, Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said there was uncertainty regarding the status of the MPs whose membership had automatically been cancelled for going against the party’s order.
He said the details were not included by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when the latter wrapped up the debate before the bill was passed.
"If it is already stated in the party constitution and is not considered as dismissal from the party, then the MP will lose the seat.
"Therefore, the details should be clarified to avoid confusion," he said.
The Jerlun MP claimed that Wan Junaidi only had time to wrap up the debate for an hour without answering to questions on the entire matter that have been raised by the debater.
"I am disappointed because many MPs insisted that the vote continue without hearing the minister (Wan Junaidi) complete his argument.
"In fact, I requested that the Speaker (Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun) allow the minister to finish the argument because he said, there were still seven pages that have not been read," Mukhriz said.