He also said any MP who decides to switch allegiances after being elected is allowed to contest on behalf of their new party after losing their seat under the new law, Bernama reported.

He added that the by-election to be held for the seat will also be announced by the Dewan Rakyat as required under the Federal Constitution.

“An MP is free to join any party, but a recall election must be held for the seat. Also, the individual is not disqualified from standing in the same seat on behalf of his or her new party,” he was quoted as saying by the national news agency.

Wan Junaidi said party-hopping can be prevented under the new law with the requirement for the recall election to ensure that the mandate is returned to the people if an MP switches parties.

He also set out the three criteria that would define “party-hopping” as contained in the administrative draft of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill.

The first criteria, he said, is when an MP announces that he is leaving the political party under which he contested, to become an independent MP or to join another political party.

“The second is when an MP is expelled from a political party. The party that sacked the MP concerned will face the risk of losing the seat because a by-election has to be held for the same seat,” he said in response to a question from senator John Ambrose.

Wan Junaidi said the third criteria is when an independent MP decides to join a political party after winning a seat.

He said this was because the MP’s decision can be considered a breach of trust as people had voted for him or her because he or she was an independent candidate, and not with any of the parties which contested the same seat.

Bernama also reported Wan Junaidi as saying that in the case of a party being deregistered under any circumstances, its MPs would not fall under the anti-hopping law when they join another party.