Anti Defection Law To Lock Down Mps But Not Parties

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The government's idea of a law to discourage MPs from defecting is unlikely to prevent political parties from switching allegiances between coalitions.
This was revealed by lawmakers who attended engagement sessions held by de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar over the past two days.
Some parliamentarians who attended these sessions said the basic concepts of what the government constitutes as an "anti-hopping bill" were somewhat similar to existing provisions in Penang.
In 2012, the Penang legislative assembly passed the Constitution of the State of Penang (Amendment) Enactment 2012 which introduced Article 14A.
Article 14A states that a member of the Penang legislative assembly shall vacate his or her seat if he or she resigns, is expelled from, or ceases to be a member of the party he or she was in when elected.
"In other words, if I join another party, I lose my seat. If an MP is elected as an independent but joins another party, then he or she would be forced to vacate the seat," said one MP who attended an engagement session.
The Penang model resembled Article 46(2)(b) of Singapore's Federal Constitution which reads: "(The seat of an MP shall become vacant) — if he ceases to be a member of, or is expelled or resigns from, the political party for which he stood in the election."
Although the legislation existed since 2012 in Penang, it cannot be applied because Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of association.
Parties switching coalitions not covered
Wan Junaidi and representatives of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) have been conducting a series of engagement sessions with MPs from both sides of the aisle.
De facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku JaafarHowever, the government's position, for now, is that the law need not cover a scenario where a political party switches coalitions.
This happened several times before. Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) both withdrew from BN in 1990 and 2008 respectively.
In 2020, Bersatu withdrew from Pakatan Harapan to form a new federal government.
Should the government follow the Penang model, it will give much power to the leadership of a party because they would be able to force a by-election.
"These engagement sessions were for the law drafters to ask us what we meant by 'anti-hopping'. It made us ponder on the various scenarios that have happened or can happen," said another MP.
Potential abuse of recall election
Parliamentarians contacted by Malaysiakini generally viewed the “recall election” model unfavourably. The most prominent proponents of this model are Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) and academic Wong Chin Huat.
Political analyst Wong Chin HuatWong argued that laws similar to the Penang model had weaknesses. It would prevent MPs from voting against party lines out of necessity, which is tolerated in most democracies.
It will also prevent MPs from sticking to a coalition should their party decide to leave.
However, because a "recall election" system generally prescribes a "recall process" through popular initiative, some MPs believe it is open to abuse.
This can be seen in Taiwan where frequent recall elections force politicians to focus on election campaigning rather than the act of governing.
It is understood that the draft bill is not ready and that the feedback from the engagement sessions will have to go through cabinet approval before the AGC's drafting division can proceed.
Tough balancing act
Several MPs told Malaysiakini that the government will have a tough balancing act to not only convince th MPs to vote on the bill, but also to satisfy the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Pakatan Harapan.
There are dozens of MPs who have switched parties since 2018 and they will have to pass a bill to amend Article 10 of the Federal Constitution for an anti-hopping law to be in effect.
The passage of a constitutional amendment bill requires the support of two-thirds of the total members of the Dewan Rakyat (147 out of 222).
There are currently 220 MPs and two vacant seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
"Ultimately, the government will have to come up with a bill which the MPs would actually want to vote on," said one lawmaker.
The anti-hopping law was the keystone of the MOU. Since 2018, apart from the federal government, the state governments in Kedah, Perak, and Malacca changed hands as a result of defections.
Anti-hopping law progress
In a press release yesterday, the Pakatan Harapan presidential council acknowledged there was progress made on the anti-hopping law.
The council also reminded the government that under the terms of the MOU, the bill must be passed by the Dewan Rakyat no later than March 24.
A 10-member committee monitors the progress of the MOU. The government side comprises Wan Junaidi (GPS-Santubong), Annuar Musa (BN-Ketereh), Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Bharu), Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut), and Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz (Independent).
Harapan is represented by Fahmi Fadzil (Harapan-Lembah Pantai), Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Harapan-Kulim-Bandar Baharu), Salahuddin Ayub (Harapan-Pulai), Gobind Singh Deo (Harapan-Puchong), and Anthony Loke (Harapan-Seremban).
Wan Junaidi also chaired two technical committee meetings comprising AGC staff and MPs with legal backgrounds on Jan 25 and 31.
Sources said the government aims to table the bill on March 21 and have the law gazetted by May. - Mkini

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