WHILE many political leaders have called for the Government to enact anti-hopping law, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek shared a different perspective on the matter.
“In principle, I agree we should have such legislation but we must look at our laws comprehensively, not only before enacting anti-hopping law, but also on the proposed recall election.
“For example, how do we deal with a lawmaker who got sacked from his or her party?” he posed the question to FocusM.
On Aug 28, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had agreed to embark on series of reforms.
Among the reforms mooted were a royal commission of inquiry to investigate “interference” in the judiciary and other public institutions, enact anti-hopping law and come up with comprehensive measures to contain COVID-19.
Yesterday, fellow Umno leader Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said proposed the Government to provide for a recall election, adding it would prevent defections and allow voters to revoke their mandate should their elected representative switch parties.
Touching on the matter, Shabery said that while he was of the opinion that a recall election would be a waste of resources, he agreed that it would empower voters to have more say over their elected leaders.
“And it would restore some integrity back to our democratic process. Betrayal of any form should be despised. You can’t do anything worse to your country than betraying the mandate given,” he stressed.
The former Kemaman MP remarked: “Since we’re talking about reforms, we should also look into limiting a prime minister’s tenure to two-terms. Again, I must stress the need to scrutinise the matter thoroughly because we may have a situation where elections are called before the five-year term ends.
“Maybe we need to look into enacting a law to set a date for general election, like the one practised in the UK.” – Aug 30, 2021
