Anti-hopping bill tabled at Sabah state assembly

 

Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor said all assemblymen should remain true to the principles of the party they represent. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Chief minister Hajiji Noor has tabled the anti-hopping bill at the Sabah state assembly.

In a Bernama report, Hajiji said he hoped the proposed law will end political instability in Sabah.

“It also sends a clear message to all assemblymen to remain true to the principles of the party they represent and to protect the mandate of the people who voted for them,” he said.

Hajiji said that assemblymen who leave a party and join another, be it in the same coalition or not, will lose their state assembly seats.

Direct members of a coalition party will also be subjected to the anti-hopping law if they decide to leave the party and join another.

Hajiji said exceptions would be provided for assemblymen to keep their seats if their parties were dissolved or deregistered.

Assemblymen will also not lose their seats if they are fired from their political parties, he added.

In addition, an assemblyman made Speaker of the state assembly is also not required to vacate his or her seat.

Political analysts and the opposition, including Sabah Muda and Warisan, have accused the state government of intentionally delaying the tabling of the bill to bolster Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (GRS) own position and make it easier for crossovers from other parties.

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This was after eight Sabah assemblymen from Warisan and Umno quit their party in March to join GRS.

GRS deputy secretary-general Armizan Ali previously told FMT that various parties, including opposition assemblymen, wanted change in Sabah’s political landscape as party-hopping had almost become the norm in the state. - FMT