Mps Pressure Govt To Table Anti Hopping Law

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PARLIAMENT | More lawmakers are pressuring the government to table and debate the anti-hopping law in the current Dewan Rakyat session, which ends on Thursday.
The calls came from both government and opposition benches during the debate of the supplementary supply bill, specifically on the proposed addition of RM67,721,300 for the Election Commission.
Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz (above) argued that the anti-hopping law must first be tabled for debate, and any proposed changes can be made at a later stage.
"In whatever form it takes, the bill must first enter the Dewan Rakyat. If there are any changes, we can tweak.
"Let us first have the bill in the Dewan. Debate it. If amendments need to be made at the committee stage, do it then.
"I believe in this matter we (MPs) will 100 percent support an anti-hopping law unless those who were frogs, but they are in the minority. The majority will support," he said.
De facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had previously said the bill for the anti-hopping law requires "further deliberation" before being tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
The present administration under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob comprises MPs who had crossed over from Umno to Bersatu after BN's loss in the 2018 general election, as well as those who defected from PKR to Bersatu during the Sheraton Move in 2020.
Since then, there have been four state elections - Sabah, Sarawak, Malacca and Johor - with an overall downward trend in voter turnout.
People taking to the streets
Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, in his debate, had blamed BN and Perikatan Nasional for the Sheraton Move, which toppled Pakatan Harapan from Putrajaya after 22 months and eroded the public's trust in parliamentary democracy.
The Kota Raja MP said the enactment of the anti-hopping law was then seen as a solution to restore the practice of democracy in Malaysia.
Known for his role in leading various major protests, including being at the forefront of Bersih rallies for electoral reforms, Mohamad warned that the people could once again take to the streets unless the anti-hopping law was enacted.
"Because now we see that sometimes when we speak in Parliament, we will be ignored.
"Maybe they want to see like in the past, hundreds of thousands of rakyat coming down to the streets, only then they will listen," he said.
Other MPs who debated the additional allocation for EC include Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian).
Aside from the anti-hopping law, Ahmad also proposed an EC commissioner's appointment to be restricted to a maximum of two terms.
Deputy Finance Minister I Shahar Abdullah earlier tabled the Supplementary Supply (2021) Act 2022 to apply a sum of RM8,413,567,300 from the Consolidated Fund for various additional expenditures not fully provided for by the existing federal budget.
On Sunday, Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, in his speech as outgoing DAP secretary-general, had said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and Pakatan Harapan is over if the anti-hopping law is not passed within the agreed timeframe this month. - Mkini

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