The anti-hopping law against elected state representatives who intend to switch parties after election has come into force since Feb 15 as the Constitution of the State of Penang (Amendment) Enactment 2012 has been gazetted.

The enactment, passed by the Penang legislative assembly in November last year, has been endorsed by Governor Abdul Rahman Abbas on Jan 8.

"The enactment is now part of the Penang constitution. It is an appropriate enactment as it will give the rakyat more confidence to vote during the coming general election," said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

"The people would now be ensured that when their elected representatives switch parties, a by-election can be called."

However, the enactment can still be challenged at the Federal Court as it is not present in the federal constitution, thus making it only valid in Penang.

NONE "Let the court decide. This would only arise in cases where someone dares to challenge it. There is no reason why BN should want to oppose this law when their leaders have signed the Integrity Pledge by Transparency International-Malaysia," Lim quipped.

"They should not be allowing party hopping but should encourage those who jump to seek a fresh mandate from the people.”

In November, the Enactment was passed by 27 of the 31 assemblypersons, with the four Umno representatives abstaining from their votes.

Guan Eng: Penang leads

Section 14A of the Enactment states that ‘members who change political parties', or a state assemblyperson elected by the people, must vacate the seat if he or she switches party or stops being a party member for whatever reason.

The Enactment also applies to an independent state representative, subjecting him or her to also vacate the seat if that person decided to join a political party after being elected.

However, Section 14A exempts an elected representative from vacating the seat if his or her party membership is ended by the disbanding of the party or by the cancellation of its registration.

It also includes a situation for an elected representative to give up party membership if he or she is picked as the speaker of the state legislative assembly.

When asked if the matter is included in Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto, which was unveiled last week, Lim said it was not.

"We want to implement it here first. This is the first state that is doing it and people are looking to us for it. As usual, Penang leads."