No amendments to anti-hopping law yet, but talks welcome: Azalina

Summary

• The government has no plans to amend the anti-party hopping law yet, but it is willing to hold bipartisan discussions on potential changes, says minister-in-charge Azalia Othman Said.

• She adds that the Political Funding Bill is still in the works, and relevant parties have yet to reach an agreement on several key points.

While Putrajaya currently has no plans to amend the anti-party hopping law, it remains open to discussions on the matter. 

According to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, the government remains committed to analysing potential changes to the legislation.

“As of now, the government does not have any proposals to amend the Federal Constitution regarding the provision preventing MPs from switching parties.

“(However), the government is always ready to further examine this matter with all government and opposition parties,” Azalina said in a parliamentary written reply yesterday. 

The reply was in response to a query from Warisan president Shafie Apdal, who asked whether the government intends to amend the law before the 16th general election. 

In July last year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government was open to discussions on making legal amendments to plug any loopholes in the anti-party hopping law.

He highlighted that when Pakatan Harapan proposed amendments in 2022 to ensure those rejected by their parties would be made to vacate their parliamentary seats, the suggestion was rejected by Perikatan Nasional leaders.

The prime minister’s comments last year came after Bersatu’s bid to vacate the six parliamentary seats represented by their MPs who had pledged support for the government was rejected by Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul.

Outstanding issues on Political Funding Bill

Meanwhile, Azalina also said that while the government has held a series of meetings and engagement sessions on the drafting of the Political Funding Bill, several issues have yet to be resolved.

As of February 2025, Azalina said a total of eight engagement sessions have been held, including five sessions featuring political party representatives and government agencies, as well as three meetings with the Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Elections and Institutional Reform.

She added that on Feb 10, the select committee had submitted responses on improving the scope of the bill.

“However, there are several policy matters which have yet to receive unanimous agreement, such as those involving public funding requirements for political parties, contribution limits, and the entity that will regulate political funds,” she said.

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