PBK chief: Anti-hopping law not deterrent enough

Voon Lee Shan

KUCHING (Oct 6): The anti-hopping law, which came into effect yesterday, does not necessarily discourage a Member of Parliament (MP) from defecting to join other political parties, opines Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.

Voon said the crux of the anti-hopping law lies in the new Article 49A and new Section 7A of Part I of the Eighth Schedule introduced to the Federal Constitution.

“A close scrutiny of Clause 1 of Article 49A provides that the Member of Parliament (MP) shall cease to be MP and has to vacate his seat if he jumps out or switches allegiance from his own political party to another political party.

“But, (it seems) an MP could still jump out from his party without vacating his seat if he or she is expelled by his or her political party. It is not difficult to be expelled from own party if the MP wants to,” he said in a statement.

Voon also opined the law seemed to not prevent MPs from resigning in large numbers to form a new political party.

“This may not be caught by the anti-hopping law because it could be argued that they are not jumping to another political party but are forming a new party.”

The current law also does not prohibit merger of political parties into one party, he added.

Moreover, Voon said many legal experts had opined that to take money to ‘jump ship’, or switching parties, was a ‘grey area’ and could not be classified as a criminal offence, and it is not a bribe either under the current law.

“The law must be clear and must make it a criminal offence for those who received money or considerations in whatever forms to leave their party.”

Voon further said the law should also make it a criminal offence for those who defected from their party after being elected on the party ticket.

“I don’t see the anti-hopping law passed by Parliament could be an effective deterrent to MPs to leave their party but a political gimmick to get the confidence of the voters on the current state of things happening in the country,” said Voon.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3CahNwI
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