ECONOMY Minister and PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli suggested that groups advocating for a reassessment of the anti-hopping law, citing a perceived loophole should focus on amending their own constitutions instead.“To me, the loophole exists because parties such as Bersatu, unlike those in Pakatan Harapan (PH), did not amend the party’s constitution so that if an MP goes against the party’s way, that constitutes a resignation from the party.“If this had happened among PH members, it wouldn’t be a problem, because the respective constitutions have already addressed that loophole during the negotiations, the last two years leading up to the draft date.“PH has always said there is a loophole but Bersatu was the one who said they prefer to leave it open like that because its president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin cited his experience that he was sacked by UMNO for what he thought was a moral decision,” said Rafizi, speaking at a press conference at the Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (Nov 17).
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin played a pivotal role in opposing an anti-hopping clause aimed at disqualifying MPs who leave their parties, according to DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook.Loke revealed that Muhyiddin, citing his own expulsion from UMNO, objected to the clause during the drafting of the anti-hopping law in 2022.The Pagoh MP, expelled from UMNO in 2016 for opposing former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the 1MDB scandal, argued that such a clause would have been unfair to him.The revelation comes amid calls to amend the anti-hopping law following defections by four Bersatu MPs to support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. – Nov 18, 2023
