KUALA LUMPUR: The time has come for the Dewan Rakyat to legislate an anti-party hopping law to avert the country from financial wastage due to elections having to be called due to party defections.
Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) said the cost of holding several by-elections had cost Malaysia more than RM12 million.
The figures, he added, could possibly soar to over RM700 million if the 15th General Election was called during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"That is a lot of taxpayers and rakyat money spent on that. It is timely that the Dewan Rakyat starts discussing the need for us to enact an anti-party hopping law.
"There is no more point in paying out RM1 billion (on elections) if there is a tendency for some to jump parties, which would lead to the government mandated by the people to collapse.
"Look at what had happened in Sabah and several states in the peninsular that led to a change in government," he said during the Supplementary Supply (2019) Bill 2020 debate today.
Hassan believed that an anti-party hopping law is an ordinary one that can be enacted by the parliament and does not involve an amendment to the Federal Constitution.
"It does not need a two-third majority, a simple majority is enough. We can do it and this means the government, together with the opposition, need to approach it cautiously and look into all legal aspects and the constitution," he said.
While the only obstacle to the enactment was Article 10(1) (c) of the Federal Constitution which states that all citizens have the right to form associations, Hassan said when it is read with Clause 2 (c) of the same Article, it allows for a law to be drawn up in certain circumstances.
Hassan said the anti-party hopping law must be in place not just as a deterrent measure for the next general election but to save the country's democracy.
"We do not want our members of parliament to become a laughing stock where they can be put on bargain, to be bought and sold. We want parliament to be a constitution that represents the voices of the people, possess the mandate of the rakyat and have dignity," he said.