PETALING JAYA: Although the Anti-Hopping Bill was important in the quest for political and national stability, it should not come at the price of democracy.
Permatang Pauh member of parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar said the rumoured provisions of the Bill threatened to strip MPs of their discretion in selecting the prime minister and voting on the Budget or constitutional amendments.
"If we are not careful, such a Bill could further curb the individual roles of MPs, their autonomy and right to act based on their conscience to best represent their voters as well as their party," she said in a statement.
In an ideal world, she said, the Legislative, Judicial and Executive wings of government should operate independently, as checks and balances upon each other to prevent abuse of power.
"In reality however, the Executive calls the shots - and an anti-hopping law which fails to acknowledge these nuances could serve to further cripple the role of the Legislative (and within this, further limit the role of the Opposition) while centralising more power within the Executive," she said.
Nurul said the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) that would deliberate on the Anti-Hopping Bill played a role of critical importance.
"The names of 11MPs appointed to the PSSC have just been released - six are from the government, while five are members of the opposition.
"In the interests of true fairness, we must ensure that non-government representation in deliberations of the Bill is equal. This is first to prevent the government bulldozing the version amenable to them, which would be highly punitive to the opposition," she said.
She also said civil society representatives such as constitutional scholars would help ensure a holistic view was taken.
Nurul said there were several options which could be considered, including recall elections as proposed by Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Electoral pressure group Bersih had also said that party hopping should be addressed by recall elections as practised in the United Kingdom and Taiwan.
"These recommendations bear serious consideration, as they have the potential to wrest the power of choice away from political elites and back to the rakyat themselves," stressed Nurul.
She said as of yesterday, none of the MPs had seen the draft of the said Bill prepared by the Attorney-General's Chambers.
"Until such a time when it is revealed, it is anyone's guess whether it involves recall elections, enables easy removal of MPs by their respective party whip, or surrenders absolute power via a simple majority to the government in power.
"Since the Bill purportedly affects our freedom of association and possibly our ability to vote based on conscience, there is no reason for it to be kept away from us.
"The public too has a right to be privy to this information as it affects their rights to be democratically represented," she added.