Some politicians still want the right to hop, says Azalina

 

Azalina Othman Said says certain groups, especially an independent bloc or a small party, may want members to be able to jump. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Umno Supreme Council member Azalina Othman Said feels there are two likely reasons why her proposal for recall elections was rejected in the Dewan Rakyat this week.

One is that the government intends to draw up its own law, and the other is that some politicians do not want party hopping stopped.

However, she remains confident that the law will come to pass.

Azalina, the former deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, said the government has given an undertaking to ban party hopping because of its political understanding with the opposition.

“Maybe that’s why the government decided it would be much better if the bill came from them.” she said after seeing her private member’s bill being shot down twice, with the latest rejection coming this week.

“The tendency in Malaysia is that all bills come from the government. It’s very rare that a private member’s bill gets passed. I think the bill was rejected on this basis,” she added.

She also said that certain parties may see value in allowing party-hopping, especially when the margins between the number of seats held by the government and opposition are narrow.

“If you are an independent bloc or a small party, you want members to be able to jump,” she said.

Letting the people replace an MP

Azalina, who is also Pengerang MP, has been a strong advocate of anti-hopping laws. She had proposed a Recall Election Bill rather than anti-hopping laws so that the public would have a say in the fate of a defecting legislator.

Voters could first initiate a proposal to sack the MP. If it gets the support of more than 1% of the constituency’s voters, the Election Commission would then proceed to launch a petition among the public to decide if the elected MP should be replaced.

If the petition then receives support from more than 40% of the voters in that area, a recall election will be triggered to elect a new representative.

Azalina said that if the government were to proceed in drawing up its own law, politicians must be involved in the drafting process as they are the ones affected.

“I think the government has announced that they are doing a survey to get the public’s participation. But I believe they must also get the MPs themselves to participate.”

“The government should be fair in calling for a symposium or discussion to get the views of all practising politicians out there, and the challenges they face.” - FMT