ALL eyes will be on Dewan Rakyat this week, with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob facing his sternest test yet as the lower house debates anti party-hopping amendments.

This is the third constitutional amendment since 2018 and Ismail’s second after coming into office on August 21 last year. Both constitutional amendments are reforms agreed between Ismail and Pakatan Harapan (PH) last September.

While Dewan Rakyat approved Ismail’s first constitutional amendment last December to restore the positions of Sabah and Sarawak after 199 MPs voted for the bill, this week’s anti party-hopping amendments could be the toughest so far.

The third constitutional amendment, which is expected to be tabled by Law and Parliament Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on Wednesday, was amended after the Dewan Rakyat referred the bill to a select committee last April on the back of several parties voicing their reservations.

According to copies of the new bill, which were circulated to MPs last week, the government is seeking to amend articles 48, 160 and the Eighth Schedule – which pertains to state legislative assemblies – and insert a new article 49A.

Article 49A, what the anti party-hopping amendment actually is, expressly states the conditions that causes a parliamentary seat to be vacated immediately. Among the conditions are when an MP resigns from his political party or an Independent who joins a party after winning as an Independent.

The amendment to article 48, if passed, will allow MPs to resign and contest in elections without waiting for five years while article 160 will provide a definition of political parties, which were not recognised in the original Federal Constitution.

If the amendment to article 160 is passed, coalition-hopping will also be prohibited.

More than 148 votes?

While there has been no opposition to amending article 48, Independents and some parties have expressed reservations about the other two amendments.

Electoral expert Prof Dr Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University points said the anti party-hopping amendment is not intended to punish coalition-hopping, like what Bersatu did in Sheraton Move.

However, because the new article 160 defines political parties to include political coalitions, it may cause unintended complications.

Nevertheless, Wong believes the lower house will pass the amendments.

“Unlike many other government bills, these amendments come from a bipartisan select committee. This means that all the major political parties have already had their say in the final bill.

“And secondly, it is in everyone’s interest after such poor voter turnouts in the last two state elections in Malacca and Johor,” said Wong, who had helped Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said propose a private member’s bill to deter party-hopping with recalls.

He said the new amendments are already simpler as opposed to Azalina’s proposal and will help restore confidence in the country’s political system.

Following the Sheraton Move in 2020, many voters have expressed disappointment the government they voted for lost power after more than a dozen MPs resigned from PKR and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin took Bersatu out of PH.

Another PH lawmaker also expressed his confidence that the amendments will be passed.

“Nobody wants to see Ismail fail at this moment as it could trigger an early election.

“As such, none of the big coalitions – PH, Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) or Gabungan Parti Sarawak – will want to stop these amendments.”

Unlike other bills, which only require a simple majority, a constitutional amendment can only be passed with 148 votes from the Dewan Rakyat.

As it stands now, the government, made up of BN (41), PN (47) and GPS (18) already has 106 votes. Added to PH’s 90, the support is more than enough to enable the amendments’ passage. – July 25, 2022.