Law minister confident anti-party hopping bill will be passed

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is confident that the Anti-Party Hopping Bill (RUU) to be brought to the Dewan Rakyat will be approved, based on the response received through engagement sessions.

He said the sessions held with stakeholders including MPs, NGOs and party leaders had received 7,000 responses in feedback for analysis.

“Overall and in principle, many agree with it. So the only question left is that, as the constitution needs to be amended, it will require two-thirds of the vote or support in the Dewan Rakyat, which is the support of 148 out of 220 total MPs now.

“If we get 148 votes or more, then this law can be passed, and based on my expectations after looking at the views of many parties, I am confident (the bill can be approved),” he said when met before appearing on a Bernama TV programme last night.

Wan Junaidi was previously reported as saying that several proposed constitutional amendments would be tabled during the Dewan Rakyat sitting which begins Feb 28, including the Anti-Party Hopping Bill and limiting the prime minister’s term to two terms.

This is in line with the recommendation of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob who wanted the bill to be expedited after the government signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability with Pakatan Harapan on Sept 13, 2021.

Wan Junaidi said the Anti-Party Hopping Bill was not aimed at hindering the democratic process among politicians, but rather to prevent harm to the country, especially from an economic point of view.

“Actually in democracy itself, anywhere, there must be parameters or scopes of its own. So to enliven democracy, there must be rules and laws because sometimes, humans have the tendency to want to be totally free without any resistance,” he said.