Cabinet to discuss final consensus of Anti-Hopping law tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR – The Cabinet is expected to discuss the final consensus of the Anti-Hopping law tomorrow.

Umno's maverick politician Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said the special select committee has finalised bill during a meeting earlier today.

“We are progressing and I think this is our final meeting.

“Tomorrow, the ministers will have the cabinet meeting and we will inform the cabinet what we, the select committee of the Anti-Hopping law, have decided,” he told Sinar Daily in an exclusive interview today.

He said he hoped that the bill could be tabled and debated before the scheduled Parliament session begins on June 18.

When asked about the estimated date that the bill would take effect, he said that the select committee left it up to the Parliament to decide.

“Our request is that we should give the Members of Parliament (MPs) the freedom to speak as much as possible and if agreed by the Prime Minister, we want to have a special session to discuss the bill.

“The thing is the select committee is empowered to prepare the bill to amend the constitution and if there was anything else that the cabinet does not agree, it is up to the Cabinet to tell their MPs to debate in Parliament.

“This (the bill) concerns the MPs and anything that cannot be resolved by the cabinet or select committee, let's allow the Parliament to decide,” he said.

The Padang Rengas MP said the Anti-Hopping law greatly help stabilise Malaysia’s political landscape which in turn would revive the economy and restore confidence from investors.

He said the country cannot have three administrations in one term as what has happened before this.

The mandate given by the people, he said should be respected.

“Something happened in Pakatan Harapan (PH), they backstabbed each other and although we are not the cause... but at the end of the day when the King called for numbers.

“The prime minister had the numbers... it’s not our fault it turned out like that,” he said adding that Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) was never part of the Sheraton Move.

In 2020, Sheraton Move saw BN, Bersatu, PAS, and a faction led by PKR’s then deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali joining forces to topple the PH government and the resignation of then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after 22 months in power.

It eventually led to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin being appointed as Malaysia’s eighth Prime Minister.

Nazri is a member of special select committee in charged of the amendments to the constitution on Anti-Hopping Laws, which was headed by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

The law is designed to prevent persons elected under the ticket of a political party from crossing over to another political party after winning a seat.

Electoral reform group Bersih had said the passage of an Anti-Hopping law in Parliament would restore public confidence in the electoral system and give voters a reason to come out in full force for the 15th General Election (GE15).

The law is needed to stop politicians from jumping from one party to another, which led to the unstable political arena in the country.