THE anti-party hopping bill is delayed because it does not address hung parliaments and parties that leave a coalition, sources told The Malaysian Insight.

“What happens when there is a hung parliament or state assembly after elections? If it is equal number of seats at 28-28, can one of the lawmakers change parties so that the government can be formed?

“Or do we have to hold an election all over again?” a government MP told The Malaysian Insight.

He noted that although the Ismail Sabri Yaakob government is committed to enacting an anti-party hopping law, there are still gaps in the draft bill that have to be addressed.

He said his party wants these items to be fine-tuned before they support it.  

Among the other matters that have not been addressed by the bill are Independents joining a party after elections and parties leaving a coalition.

“What happens if a party leaves a coalition after elections? During the elections, these parties won based on the coalition’s brand and logo,” the government MP said.

“It would be a betrayal of the people’s mandate if these parties were to leave the coalition after that.”

This was confirmed by another senior Umno leader who said the bill will be rendered meaningless if these matters were not addressed now.

The lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was commenting on Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s confirmation that the anti-party hopping bill is being delayed.

Unlike other countries, Malaysia’s political scene has been dominated by coalitions.  

Together, the four main coalitions – Pakatan Harapan (90), Perikatan Nasional (50), Barisan Nasional (41) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (18) – control almost 90% of the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.  

PH comprises four parties, while BN, PN and GPS have four, three and four parties respectively.

Meanwhile, on the PH side, several sources told The Malaysian Insight that the bill was being held up by PN.  

“They are using it as leverage to ask for other things. But, in any case, they are the least likely to want an anti-party hopping law as their party comprises defectors,” said an MP.

In 2020, Bersatu, which won on the PH ticket in the 2018 general election, quit the coalition and caused the fall of the federal government and four state governments.

Since 2018, Bersatu has also pulled 10 PKR and 15 Umno MPs to its side.  

The introduction of the anti-party hopping bill and limiting the tenure of the prime minister are part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for political stability and transformation signed between PH and the Ismail administration.

The MOU, signed on September 14 last year, focuses on six areas of reform. – March 20, 2022.