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Bersih submits 8 proposals on anti-hopping law to Parliament

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The electoral reform group has submitted them to the parliamentary select committee drafting the anti-hopping law.

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Free Malaysia Today
Bersih is disappointed and viewed with great concern the government’s decision to postpone the tabling of the anti-hopping bill in the Dewan Rakyat.

PETALING JAYA:
Electoral reform group Bersih has given eight recommendations to the parliamentary select committee (PSC) drafting the anti-hopping law.

In a written submission, Bersih said it had proposed that constituents be given the power to decide whether the elected representative should be asked to vacate the seat for the following reasons:

  • defecting to another party;
  • resigns or is sacked from his party;
  • convicted for non-compoundable offences;
  • convicted for compoundable offences and sentenced to be imprisoned, and the appeal period expires without the conviction being overturned on appeal, notwithstanding having received a free pardon, except for offences under the Sedition Act 1948, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Sections 211 and 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012; and,
  • being absent for 50% of the legislative assembly/parliamentary sitting days in a period of six months, notwithstanding being granted leave of absence.

Bersih held that the recall mechanism to remove an elected representative was “the best remedy” to solve the problem of party hopping.

It said this would make elected representatives more accountable and allow the party system to stabilise.

The group proposed that the grounds for a recall election be enshrined in the Federal Constitution. It said the process, threshold and timeline for the recall process be placed in a separate Act.

It also proposed that Article 48(6) of the Federal Constitution be amended to allow an MP to resign his seat as a sign of “principled dissent” and to recontest the same seat; and Article 54(1) be amended to allow seat vacancies even after the House has sat for three years.

Among other proposals by Bersih are:

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  • allowing the incumbent prime minister to remain as the interim PM to prevent the collapse of the government until the status of the sacked or defected MPs are resolved, and have a confirmatory vote of confidence (CVC) after the by-elections;
  • holding a constructive vote of no-confidence (CVNC) to ensure that an incumbent PM can only be removed if there is a replacement candidate who commands the majority, for the sake of political stability; and,
  • the PSC consider expanding its terms of reference to include other substantial factors that contribute to party hopping, namely unequal constituency development funds, appointments to government-linked companies, selective investigation by agencies like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Internal Revenue Board and perceived selective prosecution by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

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