THE historic constitutional amendments that seek to outlaw party-hopping have been passed unanimously in Dewan Rakyat today via a bloc vote.
All 209 MPs present voted in favour of the bill while eleven MPs were absent when the voting took place.
The bill was passed after debates yesterday and today involving 54 MPs. It was tabled for its second reading by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday.
It passed the second and third reading today.
The tabling of the anti-hopping bill is one of the key conditions of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Ismail Sabri and Pakatan Harapan.
Under the bill, MPs will lose their seats if they choose to jump to another party. Exceptions will be provided for MPs who are sacked by their party or if their party is dissolved or deregistered.
“Congratulations to all of you for creating history today,” Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun said in announcing the result of the vote.
His announcement was met with chants of “Hidup Rakyat” (long live the people) and “Hidup MOU” (long live the MOU) by opposition MPs.
The bill required at least a two-thirds majority, or the support of at least 148 MPs, in the Dewan Rakyat to amend Article 10 (1)(c) of the Federal Constitution.
Earlier this month, law minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he expected the law to be implemented by the end of September if the bill was passed during this current Dewan Rakyat meeting. – July 28, 2022
