Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said there was no other explanation for the government not following through with its promise to draw up an anti-hopping law in accordance with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the opposition last year.
This comes after Wan Junaidi said that while it was imperative to have an anti-hopping law to ensure confidence and good governance, there was no consensus on the term “anti-hopping”.
“The claim by Wan Junaidi that it might be difficult to finalise and pass a proposed anti-hopping law because of differing definitions was baseless.
“There may be various permutations as to what amounts to party hopping but certain basic examples stand out which can be addressed now in a proposed anti-hopping bill,” Ramkarpal said.
“Instances of individuals leaving their party to join a party in power or those who become independent but friendly to parties in power are clear examples of individuals leaving one party to another for their own ulterior motives.”
He added that an anti-hopping law and the necessary amendments to the constitution could outlaw such “clear instances” of party hopping.
Ramkarpal, who is also DAP’s national legal bureau chairman, said that the failure to table an anti-hopping bill at the next Parliament sitting would lead to a serious erosion of public confidence.
He said it would also suggest that the government lacked the political will to introduce such anti-hopping legislation and cast doubts as to whether it really wanted such a law to be passed.
Ramkarpal said this would justify the opposition rethinking its continued participation in the MoU with the government.
It was reported recently that Pakatan Harapan (PH) had told the government that the MoU would be declared void if the anti-hopping bill was not tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat session.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said PH had told Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob last month that the MoU would be “automatically cancelled” if the demand was not met.
Today, electoral reform group Bersih said the passage of an anti-hopping law in Parliament would restore public confidence in the electoral system and give voters a reason to come out in full force at the 15th general election.