“I would definitely support having the anti-party hopping law (in the state),” the caretaker menteri besar told The Malaysian Insight.

He said the anti-party hopping law is among BN’s initiatives, to be launched today.

According to Hasni, BN has decided not to call its election promises a manifesto or “aku janji”, but an “ikhtiar”, which means initiative.

“Ikhtiar is a stronger word in Johor,” said the 62-year-old after finishing his campaign rounds in Benut on Sunday.

“When we launch our state initiative, one of the things we will highlight is the introduction of an anti-party hopping enactment.

“That shows how serious we are about party hopping, so the assembly and lawmakers have credibility,” said Hasni.

Just like Pakatan Harapan (PH), which lost Putrajaya in 2020, BN also lost members to Perikatan Nasional after the 2018 elections, losing as many as 15 MPs and more assemblymen to Bersatu.

Federal BN lawmakers such as Azalina Othman Said started pushing for anti-party hopping legislation at the federal level.

BN had also promised to set up such laws after winning the Malacca elections last year.

Checks and equal funding

Following the changes in 2018, Hasni is among those who believe in fairness to the opposition and acknowledging how the opposition can play a role in government.

“If there is an opposition, it should have credibility and the ability to come up with better proposals when it deals with the government.

“This check-and-balance role in a democratic system is very much needed in Johor, especially if you look at the racial composition in the state.

“That alone requires the right number of representations from all and must have a balanced approach in providing assistance,” said the three-term assemblyman.

As such, Hasni said he is ready to commit to providing equal constituency funding for all assemblymen regardless of party affiliation if BN wins Johor on March 12.

“To me, that is only fair as they are all elected by voters and should have a basic allocation for the development of their constituencies. Everyone will get the same. If the government representative gets a certain allocation for their constituencies, the opposition should also get the same.

“I would definitely want it to continue,” said Hasni.

In Johor’s Budget 2022, Hasni had announced RM200,000 to all assemblymen regardless of party affiliation.

Johor BN began providing equal constituency funds to all assemblymen last year to ensure government stability after the coalition and PH opposition toppled Bersatu menteri besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu in Perak in 2020.

This was later followed by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob at the federal level when he signed a memorandum of understanding with PH to ensure stability after his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin resigned ahead of a confidence vote in Parliament.

Prior to this, sitting governments used to punish voters by refusing to give equal funding to areas won by the opposition. – March 1, 2022.