Don’t delay tabling anti-hopping bill, says Umno veep

 

Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin said Umno was committed to ending mandate abuse by elected representatives.

PETALING JAYA: Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin has urged the government to no longer delay the tabling of an anti-hopping bill.

Calling the bill a “progressive move”, Khaled said the bill was part of Umno’s commitment to eradicate all forms of mandate abuse by elected representatives.

The bill was also an important part of political reforms supported by both Umno and the opposition.

“If the tabling of the bill is delayed for too long, it will raise doubts about Umno’s commitment in championing political and institutional reforms as promised. Therefore, it should not be delayed any longer and must be given priority by the government,” he said in a statement today.

He added that “party hopping” had caused political instability in the country.

Yesterday, Lim Guan Eng (now DAP chairman) said the memorandum of understanding between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the government coalition would be “finished and ended” if the anti-hopping law is not tabled as promised.

PH had insisted that the government enact an anti-hopping law by this month to stop defections that Lim said had “contaminated the entire democratic process”.

However, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said on Friday that the Cabinet had decided that the bill required “further deliberation” with Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional to ensure it could get sufficient support in the Dewan Rakyat. - FMT