THE constitutional amendments tabled today to stop party-hopping is the political resetting that the country needs, said Azalina Othman Said.

“As politicians, we must accept the fact that we have betrayed the voters,” said the Pengerang lawmaker in the Dewan Rakyat today.

“As such, these amendments are for the people, from the people, because of the people. They’re not from the politicians as the politicians don’t want them,” she said.

The former minister said it was evident from the recent state elections that Malaysians were angry with the politicians .

“It can be seen from the low voter turnouts in Malacca and Johor elections. This is because voters are angry with us.

“They are disgusted with us and don’t want to hear our excuses,” said Azalina.

Azalina, who is on the 11-man special select committee on anti party-hopping, said the amendments were testament to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s commitment to change the politics in the country.

She attributed the successful tabling of the bill to the government’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pakatan Harapan.

The bill was one of the key conditions in the deal that was inked last September.

The amendments are a middle-ground approach, said Azalina.

“It is aimed at stopping lawmakers from party hopping. But if a lawmaker is sacked from their party, they can contest the seat again due to the repeal of article 48(6).”

Earlier today, Ismail tabled six constitutional amendments to prevent party-hopping.

Among them are the introduction of article 49A, which states the conditions for when a parliamentary seat must be vacated at once. This includes when an MP resigns from his party and when an Independent joins a party after winning a seat.

Article 48(6) is to be repealed which has prohibited MPs from standing for election for five years if they resign their seats.

Article 160 is to be amended to redefine political parties so that coalition-hopping also be prevented.

The Eighth Schedule is to be amended so that the same prohibitions can be instituted at the state legislative assembly

Following the 2018 election, more than 50 federal and state lawmakers defected from their parties, causing as many as seven changes of federal and state governments. 

This will be the third set of constitutional amendments proposed since the 2018 polls. The first was to lower the voting age to 18 and the second to restore the positions of Sabah and Sarawak in the federation.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun has allocated 600 minutes or two days to the debate on the anti-party hopping bill. – July 27, 2022.