Pas pledges full support for proposed constitutional amendments

KUALA LUMPUR - Pas will give its full support to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022 which will be tabled at a special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

Pas secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, in a statement today, said the bill is aimed at amending the Federal Constitution, especially Article 10(3) in relation to Article 10(1)(c) on freedom of association.

"Based on the case of Kelantan State Legislative Assembly vs Nordin Salleh & Anor, which was decided by the Supreme Court on April 3, 1992, any provision of law or State Constitution relating to anti-party hopping will be considered ultra vires the Federal Constitution as long as Article 10 is not amended to enable an Anti-Party Hopping Act to be formulated and approved by Parliament.

"Therefore, based on this policy, the Cabinet at its meeting on April 6, 2022 decided that the Special Parliament Sitting scheduled for April 11, 2022 should be held to amend Article 10 to enable an act relating to party hopping to be tabled and approved by Parliament at another sitting,” he said.

Takiyuddin, who is Energy and Natural Resources Minister, said the Cabinet also unanimously agreed that matters related to party hopping and its legal implications be incorporated in a comprehensive and detailed manner in a special Act of Parliament.

"This Act should include precise definitions, clear examples and concrete explanations to avoid any lacuna, abuse of power and likelihood of bias which may cause affected parties to challenge it in court,” he added.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had said earlier that the Anti-Party Hopping Bill would not be tabled in the special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

However, Wan Junaidi, in a statement issued together with joint chairman of Steering Committee on Transformation and Political Stability Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on Thursday, said the special sitting would still be held to table and debate the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022.

The bill on anti-party hopping will be tabled, debated and approved at another special sitting of Parliament which will be fixed later. - BERNAMA