COMMENT | Party-hopping in Malaysia has been a very big problem for many years now. It has caused a lot of frustration for Malaysian voters and politicians.

The latest and most significant frustrations would have been during the Sheraton Move in March 2020 when a slew of MPs and a whole party withdrew from the Pakatan Harapan coalition to form the Perikatan Nasional government.

So, I think it is a welcomed move that the government of the day has decided (in accordance with the MOU that was entered between them and the opposition) to initiate the drafting of an anti-hopping law.

However, it is still early days and as de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has mentioned in response to a question by the opposition in Parliament this week, it will take time.

He added that when the draft is ready, it will be given to all MPs to study and discuss before being tabled in Parliament. That sounds fair.

As much as I agree that something like this should not be bulldozed through in a hurry, I also hope that it won’t be a matter where it drags on and on longer than it should.

Also in Parliament this week, Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad said...