PETALING JAYA: Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said has defended her call for an anti-hopping law in Melaka, which has seen the government fall twice since the last general election because of party-hoppers.
This comes after a lawyer said Azalina had “crossed the line” by calling for an anti-hopping law in the state, as it was purely the business of the incoming government and its 28 elected assemblymen.
Muhammmad Rafique Rashid Ali said it was for the new Melaka government to draw up an enactment or amend its constitution after getting input from its state legal adviser or outside legal experts.
Commenting on Rafique’s statement, the former deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat asked in a tweet:“Is a Malaysian MP an outsider?”
Further, she said, the tabling of an anti-hopping law was among the proposals in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that Pakatan Harapan signed with the federal government in September.
She said the anti-hopping law was also supported by the eighth and ninth prime ministers.
“I would question the intentions of those who attempt to silence our fight in giving voters a voice and reinstate decent politics in Malaysia through the #HybridBill,” she added.
Recently, Azalina suggested that any assemblyman who quit his party should be automatically expelled from the assembly or that voters be allowed to file a petition to have an assemblyman removed if he switches parties.
Stating that an anti-hopping law would uphold the democratic system in Malaysia as well as maintain political and economic stability, she also said she was confident the law would effectively prevent elected representatives from jumping ship.
Melaka is set for a state election on Nov 20, with nominations on Nov 8.
The governor dissolved the state assembly on Oct 5 after four assemblymen said they had retracted support for chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali.
The four are former chief minister Idris Haron (Sungai Udang), former DAP man Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu), Bersatu’s Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) and Umno’s Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor).
Idris and Nor Azman have been sacked by Umno, while Noor Effandi has been given his marching orders by Bersatu. - FMT
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