Anti-hopping bill needs more work, Cabinet tells select committee

The Cabinet has raised two issues regarding the anti-hopping bill to prevent MPs from switching camps for further refinement by the select committee.

Law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Attorney-General Idrus Harun had explained the constitutional amendments to the Cabinet during a meeting yesterday, and no objections were raised to the draft proposed by the parliamentary select committee.

“Nevertheless, the Cabinet raised two matters for further details and refinement,” he said in a statement, without elaborating on the nature of these issues.

He said according to Rule 85 of the Standing Orders, information related to the select committee cannot be revealed as it is still under discussion at the parliamentary select committee level.

Adding that the bill would be taken into consideration by the Cabinet as a whole, Wan Junaidi said the questions raised by the Cabinet would be brought to the select committee on June 7 for further scrutiny before the bill is finalised.

The government previously said that the anti-party hopping bill would likely be tabled in July.

If it is tabled and passed at the July sitting, it could be gazetted as early as January next year.