The Bill on Anti-Party Hopping should not be delayed any longer

KUALA LUMPUR : 1. I, as a member of the Senate, applaud the commitment of the Special Select Committee on the anti-hopping law bill that has been serious about rigorously finalising the final amendment draft on the Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.

2. Besides my political colleagues, who are the members of the both Houses of the Parliament, the Pakatan Harapan’s electorally chosen representatives of the Negeri Sembilan assembly have also been keen about having the constitutional amendment. The law, once it comes into force after being assented to by the Yang

di-Pertuan Agong, can lawfully cramp party-hopping act in future that has been frustrating our democracy since the infamous Sheraton Move.

3. The excuses stated in the recently-issued statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister Department (Laws and Parliament) are apropos. If the special parliamentary sitting, in which it will democratically discuss on the indispensable matter of the future national democracy, is said to be a financial burden to the government with more than a million ringgit spent in expenditure, what does it mean to have extravagant spending of remunerating superfluously political appointments while the people are economically suffocating?

4. The democratic spirit inked through the publicly-lauded MOU on Transformation and Political Stability between the federal government and Pakatan Harapan must not be disrespected by any invisible dubious political agenda ahead of the 15th general elections.

5. The special sitting can even be held this month as hoped. It would only take at most 2 days combining the sitting of the Senate. Alternatively, if the lower house members of the mentioned special select committees are being or will be busy with their businesses as justified by the law minister, the bill can, constitutionally, be

originated in the Senate as provided in the Clause 2, Article 66 of the Constitution.

6. The Prime Minister can earn a public respect if he agrees to actuating the bill in the Senate this month. In fact, he can potentially write a new history of being a chivalrous Prime Minister who exceptionally values the calibre of the Senate that has a constitutional equity of originating certain bills subject to Article 67.

7. Delaying such a paramount law bill for the Parliament to pass, if it is intentionally orchestrated to grovel certain political figures, will corrode the people’s trust and respect towards the country’s democracy.

8. The functions of the Houses of Parliament must be buttressed by the veracious principles of the members of the Houses, who, in their oaths, had solemnly sworn to faithfully discharge their duties to the best of their ability with the Constitution being preserved, protected, and defended.

9. On behalf of the coterie of Pakatan Harapan Senators, I am, again, sternly stressing that the dedicated law on anti-hopping must be made real before the Parliament finally calls it a term.

10. Importantly, the bill should not be banjaxed in favour of certain personages who masked their hypocrisies with their melodious rhetorics.

---

** YB Senator Datuk Kesavadas A.Achyuthan Nair is a member of the Malaysian Senate

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI