Where S The Promised Anti Hopping Bill Shahrir Asks Govt

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Umno veteran Shahrir Samad has questioned the non-appearance of the anti-hopping bill in Parliament during the ongoing March session - which is set to end this Thursday (March 24).
Institutional reforms that were agreed to by the federal government and Pakatan Harapan were promised to be taken to Parliament by March this year.
An anti-hopping law is a part of the reform deal, which aims at preventing elected representatives from abusing the mandate given to them by voters.
Shahrir said the government’s failure to keep to its promises will lead to assumptions about some of its ministers who had jumped parties in the past.
“What happened to the government's promise to table the anti-hopping bill during this March session?
“When promises are not kept, all sorts of assumptions and conjectures will arise.
“Specifically, in relation to the anti-hopping bill, postponing its tabling will be associated with the presence of ‘katak’ (party-hopping) ministers in the cabinet,” said Shahrir.
He said these ‘katak’ included the likes of Azmin Ali, Hamzah Zainudin, Latif Ahmad, Mustapa Mohamed, Zuraida Kamaruddin, and Mas Ermieyati Samsudin - all of whom he noted to have come from Bersatu.
“Of course, they are not interested in laws that will ‘ban’ their political habits, so Bersatu does not agree with this bill.
“Bersatu is with PAS in Perikatan Nasional (PN). How can PAS not help its comrades?
“If PN does not agree, how can the cabinet approve this bill?” said Shahrir.
On Sept 13 last year, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had signed a memorandum of understanding with top Harapan figures in Parliament.
Ismail Sabri said his administration would bring "transformations" that will result in the country being better managed which, in turn, will help the country's fight against Covid-19 and economic recovery.
Other reforms agreed to by both parties included limiting the term of a prime minister to 10 years, a list of parliamentary reforms, ensuring judicial independence and strengthening the country's Covid-19 plan. - Mkini

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