Malaysia – The Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022, which will be introduced during a special session of the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, will have the full support of PAS.
The Bill, according to PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, is aimed at altering the Federal Constitution, particularly Article 10(3) in regard to Article 10(1)(c) on freedom of association.
“Any provision of law or State Constitution relating to anti-party hopping will be considered ultra vires the Federal Constitution as long as Article 10 is not amended to enable an Anti-Party Hopping Act to be formulated and approved by Parliament,” according to the case of Kelantan State Legislative Assembly vs Nordin Salleh & Anor, which was decided by the Supreme Court on April 3, 1992.
He added that as a result of this policy, the Cabinet determined at its meeting on April 6, 2022 that a Special Parliament Session be called on April 11, 2022 to change Article 10 to allow an act dealing to party hopping to be submitted and adopted by Parliament at a later sitting.
The Cabinet also unanimously decided, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin, that subjects relating to party hopping and its legal repercussions be contained in a thorough and exhaustive way in a special Act of Parliament.
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“This Act should have explicit definitions, clear examples, and detailed explanations to prevent any gaps, misuse of authority, or possibility of prejudice that might lead to legal challenges by impacted parties,” he said.
Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), had previously said that the Anti-Party Hopping Bill will not be introduced in the Dewan Rakyat’s special session on Monday.
Wan Junaidi, in a joint statement with Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, the joint chairman of the Steering Committee on Transformation and Political Stability, said the special sitting will still be convened to submit and discuss the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022. The anti-party hopping bill will be introduced, discussed, and adopted at a later special session of Parliament.
