Nazri: Anti-hopping law won't work, party-list the solution
PARLIAMENT | Nazri Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas) has proposed that the Election Commission Act 1957 be amended to enforce a party-list system to end party-hopping, curb the buying of MPs and ensure political stability.
This was one of the suggestions put forward by the Election Reform Committee to the previous Pakatan Harapan government.
PARLIAMENT | Nazri Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas) has proposed that the Election Commission Act 1957 be amended to enforce a party-list system to end party-hopping, curb the buying of MPs and ensure political stability.
This was also one of the suggestions put forward by the Election Reform Committee to the previous Pakatan Harapan government.
Rather than making party-hopping unlawful, which previous attempts had been declared unconstitutional, Nazri proposed an alternative whereby a constituency is tied to the winning party rather than the representative.
“I propose that we amend our EC act, we use a Westminster system in our elections and we have constituencies but if we can, let’s amend it so that there is no need to name individuals as candidates.
“Let’s contest based on party logos. A party-list (system). This will solve many problems,” he said when debating the royal address.
Nazri elaborated that such a system would stop corruption as MPs could not be bought over. In the event an MP changes allegiances, the winning party will be able to appoint another representative for the seat.
“For example, when a government falls and they want support. For some MPs, this is harvest time. Why? Because they can sell their seats. They are open to being corruptible.
“But if we contest based on party logos, we can’t sell ourselves,” he said.
Idea receives Harapan support
During his turn today, Nazri began by stating his disagreement with party-hopping as it transgressed the will of the people.
Hanipa Maidin (Harapan-Sepang) stood up in agreement, proposing Perikatan Nasional “admit defeat” and return the government to Harapan.
This prompted Nazri to blame Harapan for its own implosion, and counter-proposed that GE15 be held “any time” to solve political instability.
Nazri next contended that an anti-hopping law would not be feasible, pointing to the Federal Court’s decision in the Nordin Salleh case that ruled such laws violated Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guaranteeing freedom of association.
At this point, several Harapan lawmakers attempted to interrupt him. Ngeh Koo Ham (Harapan-Beruas) was heard accusing him of making contradictory statements.
After Nazri proposed the party-list system as a method to curb party hopping, Mohamad Sabu (Harapan-Kota Raja) stood up to voice his support for the idea.
Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, who was formerly the EC chairperson, also noted that the debate had been “interesting”.
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