Draft anti-party hopping bill finalised

The draft Bill Prohibiting Members of Parliament from Switching Parties (Amendment) (No. 3) 2022 has been finalised and recommended to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for tabling at the special parliamentary sitting in the first week of July.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the matter was unanimously agreed on at the special select committee meeting on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.3) 2022 and the provision involving the Prohibition of Members of Dewan Rakyat from Changing Parties Number 6 Year 2022 on June 7.

According to Wan Junaidi, who is also the committee chairman, the meeting had finalised the draft bill to be tabled and debated in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said in that regard, five fundamental issues raised by the Cabinet during the June 1 meeting were answered by the parliamentary special select committee at yesterday’s meeting.

“The parliamentary special select committee’s feedback on the matter will be brought to the next Cabinet meeting as a Cabinet note,” he said in a statement today.

Wan Junaidi also said that a final meeting on the matter would be held soon to confirm the parliamentary special select committee statement.

He said in general, the parliamentary special select committee had successfully implemented the terms of reference as per the motion approved on April 11.

“This is the result of the joint commitment by all committee members and the strong support of the Malaysian Parliament, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department and the Attorney-General’s Chambers,” he said.

It was previously reported that the bill was expected to be tabled as early as mid-July, when the Second Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 14th Parliament begins on July 18.

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