KUBANG PASU: The final draft of the anti-party hopping bill should be made public before being tabled in Parliament.
Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan said this would enable all parties, including non-governmental organisations and academicians with expertise on the matter, to share their views.
By doing so, said Wan Saiful, all the stakeholders would have an opportunity to provide their input towards the formulation of a comprehensive law.
He pointed out that the content of the final draft of the bill which was concealed from public knowledge made it difficult for anyone to make an informed evaluation on the document.
"It doesn't matter when (the final draft is to be made public), but it should be done before the bill is tabled in Parliament. The best thing is to make it public as soon as possible.
"It is wiser for us to make the draft public since our NGOs and academicians also have the expertise on this matter and they should be given the space to improve any possible weaknesses on the draft.
"If we talk to politicians, there will be too many interests to protect and probably some will take advantage," he told reporters after presenting Ramadan goodies in Kampung Binjai in Jeram here today.
Wan Saiful said whether Bersatu or any other parties were supportive of the bill did not arise, since nobody was well informed on the content of the final draft of the bill.
"Whether the bill is being accepted or rejected is not an issue because during the consultation sessions, there are always views being voiced by politicians from various parties over things that should be improvised.
"The way I see it, all parties are showing their commitment towards that (realising the bill). Even for Bersatu, we have never said we disagreed to the bill.
"In fact, in our Supreme Council meeting recently, there was a discussion on how to improve the bill to ensure that it gets the approval in Parliament," he said.
Earlier today, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to state his commitment to tabling the bill in Parliament soon.
The council stressed that Ismail Sabri must also set a date for a second special Parliament sitting and announce it on April 11 when they sit in the Dewan Rakyat.
This was following yesterday's announcement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar that the bill would be tabled, debated and passed at a later date instead of the scheduled April 11.