Malaysia's parliament passes anti-party hopping Bill to curb political defection

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s parliament on Thursday (July 28) passed the Anti-Party Hopping Bill by making amendments to the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022 on Provisions Preventing Members of Parliament from Switching Parties — or better known as the Anti-Party Hopping Bill.

The bill required two thirds majority vote from Members of Parliament (MPs), with a total of 209 people agreeing to it, while 11 were not in attendance.

This meant that the bill was passed as the two thirds majority vote was satisfied.

MPs voted for the constitutional amendment to ban MPs from jumping parties. No MPs voted against it.

The Anti-Party Hopping Law was mooted by both the government and opposition MPs after the infamous Sheraton Move back in early 2020, where several MPs “jumped” ship from their respective political parties and caused the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to fall.

The bill was part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Malaysian prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the PH coalition.

De facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said previously that Malaysia’s democratic practices were unhealthy as 39 parliamentarians had switched political allegiances and three prime ministers had been appointed since the 2018 general election.

On Wednesday, Mr Ismail Sabri when tabling the bill earlier said it was aimed at ensuring political stability and prevent the country from facing a continuous political crisis.

He said the bill, which contained four paragraphs and six clauses, four of which are new, also aimed at giving a clear message to all members of Malaysia’s parliament to uphold and stick to the principles of the party that they represent. MALAY MAIL