THE much-awaited anti-party hopping bill will be tabled at a special sitting of Dewan Rakyat in Ramadan, said Anthony Loke.

The newly appointed DAP secretary-general said the prime minister informed him of the matter at a meeting today. Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail were present at the meet.

The Putrajaya-Pakatan Harapan memorandum of understanding includes, as one of its key reforms, the tabling of the anti-party hopping bill during the first session of Dewan Rakyat this year. The session will end this week.

Former DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng earlier warned the government that the agreement will be “finished and ended” if the bill is not tabled as promised.

Loke said the prime minister has given his commitment that the draft law will be tabled at the special sitting next month. It needs a constitutional amendment to come into effect.

“Every technical issue needs to be resolved by the bipartisan technical committee.

“We give our full commitment that PH will cooperate to ensure the constitutional amendment is passed.”

Though the bill is supposed to be tabled in the current sitting, Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said “further deliberation” with Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional stakeholders is necessary to garner sufficient support from MPs.

Mohamad yesterday urged the government to table the bill this week, warning that the opposition will conduct street protests if the prime minister reneged on his promise.

“Table the anti-party hopping bill immediately. This is the last warning from us,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.

Apart from the opposition, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin and Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz also urged the government to not postpone the bill’s tabling. – March 23, 2022.