AN ELECTORAL reform group has welcomed the Dewan Rakyat’s recent passing of constitutional amendments to outlaw party-hopping, despite what it describes as “shortcomings” in the anti-party hopping Bill.
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) expressed hope the Dewan Negara would unanimously pass the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022 on Provisions Preventing Members of Parliament from Switching Parties, for royal assent.
“Bersih congratulates all the MPs who took part in the debate and the 209 MPs who voted to pass this Bill,” its steering committee said in a statement on Wednesday (July 28) after the Bill was passed in the lower house earlier that day.
“Nonetheless, the passing of the anti-hopping amendments should be regarded as the first step to ensure the enactment of new legislations that are more progressive, just and sustainable to face future political challenges.
“Bersih is of the view that there is still room for improvement for this Bill.”
The tabling of the anti-hopping Bill is one of the key conditions of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan).
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.
“Two shortcomings”
Bersih pointed out two shortcomings in the Bill, the first being that it does not address the issue of parties which change coalitions after an election.
It noted that the Sheraton Move happened when Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) left Pakatan in 2020 and formed the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Government with the support of UMNO, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“The second shortcoming is the issue of MPs who have been sacked by their parties and do not have their seats automatically vacated.
“With this exclusion, it would weaken the Anti-Hopping Bill because MPs who betray their parties would not resign but wait to be sacked instead, so they can maintain their seat in Parliament,” Bersih said.
Bersih reiterated that the best mechanism to deal with party-hopping is through a recall law, where voters decide if their elected representative who switched parties should vacate their seat.
“Such legislation would further empower voters to hold their elected representatives accountable as the grounds for recall is not necessarily limited to party-hopping,” Bersih added.
Bersih also noted that an anti-hopping bill would not have the full desired impact if voters still regard their elected representatives as “social welfare officers”, instead of “empowering them to be lawmakers”.
“Structural reforms needed”
“With such mindsets, party hoppers who align themselves with the Government will continue to win by-elections because of the bigger allocations at their disposal for their voters.
“As such, all parties including the Government and the opposition, should seriously consider structural political reforms,” it said, recommending having an equitable Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for all elected representatives and limiting the number of ministers and deputies.
Bersih also proposed prohibiting all MPs from holding positions in government-linked companies (GLC) and reforming the office of the attorney-general to stop selective prosecutions.
“All these reforms and improvements are extremely important to accompany the constitutional amendments to deter party-hopping, and so our country will be more stable, progressive and democratic,” it said. – July 30, 2022
