Bersatu MPs ordered to abstain from joining 'anti-hopping' debate
Bersatu lawmakers were ordered not to debate on the constitutional amendment bill aimed at discouraging MPs from switching parties was passed by the Dewan Rakyat earlier today.
Party secretary-general and Larut MP Hamzah Zainudin (above) told reporters today that despite the order, Bersatu had given full support to the constitutional amendments related to party-hopping.
Bersatu lawmakers were ordered not to debate on the constitutional amendment bill aimed at discouraging MPs from switching parties was passed by the Dewan Rakyat earlier today.
Party secretary-general and Larut MP Hamzah Zainudin (above) told reporters today that despite the order, Bersatu had given full support to the constitutional amendments related to party-hopping.
“My party members did want to speak in the Dewan (Rakyat), but I have asked them to remain calm.
“There have been some (lawmakers) who have made accusations, using all sorts of analogies and names.
“But today, all that was present, including Bersatu MPs, voted (in favour of the constitutional amendment), proving that we are a group that knows the law and what is embedded in the constitution,” he said at a press conference in Parliament after the bill was passed.
Hamzah was hitting back at critics who have labelled Bersatu MPs as “political frogs”.
He said that other parties such as Warisan and PAS had also hopped between parties in the past.
“But if my party members or I say this in the Dewan Rakyat, what will ensue?
“It will only further divide what is needed to pass this constitutional amendment.
“So today, we walk the talk. Because we know it is for the importance of the rakyat,” he said.
Bersatu won 13 seats in 2018. Now, their numbers have swelled to 30.
The defections to Bersatu were triggered by the Sheraton Move when former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and 10 other former PKR MPs resigned from their party in Feb 2020 in a bid to oust the Pakatan Harapan government.
Prior to the bloc voting being called today, several Pakatan Harapan MPs in the Dewan Rakyat were heard calling out for Azmin Ali (Bersatu-Gombak), who was not present in the Dewan Rakyat.
This led to Thomas Su Keong Siong (Harapan-Kampar) commenting: “Gombak’s missing, the biggest (political) frog.”
However, Shamsul Iskandar (Harapan-Hang Tuah Jaya) clarified with Malaysiakini that while Azmin had not been present during the debates on the bill, he had entered the Dewan to vote.
MPs have been debating the bill since yesterday afternoon.
When the bloc vote on the bill was called today, 209 voted in favour and none against it. There were 11 absentees.
The result far exceeded the two-thirds requirement for a constitutional amendment.
The bill will now be taken to the Dewan Negara. Once passed, it can be gazetted as early as August.
The key feature of the bill is that it sought to introduce Article 49A, which stipulates that an MP will cease to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat on two conditions:
1) The MP “resigns” from or “ceases to be a member of” the political party that he or she was a member of upon being elected; or,
2) The MP, having been elected while being a member of a political party, joins a different political party.
The new law will also apply to MPs who were without a party membership upon being elected but subsequently joined a political party.
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