Bill to enact anti-party hopping law expected to be tabled in Parliament in July 2022, says Wan Junaidi

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Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar speals during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 9. – Bernama photo

KUCHING (Dec 29): The Bill to enact an anti-party hopping law is expected to be tabled in Parliament in July next year, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

“I am studying the option either amending the Article 10 (of the Federal Constitution) or creating an Act of Parliament with the concept of acceptable infringement of right under the Federal Constitution or amend the Article 10 and create an Act of Parliament at the same time.

“My target date to table the Bill will be in the July sitting of Parliament,” he said when contacted today,

Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution states that all citizens have the right to form associations.

Wan Junaidi who is Santubong MP, acknowledged that Sarawak has its own anti-party hopping law enacted in 1994.

“The only thing is, following Nordin Salleh’s case, there is no test case for Sarawak amendment (Sarawak’s anti-party hopping law), but the commonly held view is that the court’s decision is likely to follow along with the Nordin Salleh’s case.”

In 1992, the Federal Court in Nordin’s case decided that the then newly-enacted anti-party hopping law, which was enacted to prevent state elected representatives from hopping from one party to another by the Kelantan state government, was unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, during his victory speech on the night of Dec 18, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg told a press conference that they do not like “frogs”, thereby hinting that no elected representative from the opposition fold will be roped into the coalition in the near future.

GPS thumped the opposition with 76 to six seats margin in the just concluded Sarawak state polls.