Wan Junaidi said when the bill was drafted, he had insisted on including a clause that MPs would automatically vacate their seat if they were to go against the stand of their respective parties in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, the clause was rejected by PN, the opposition coalition, causing the clause to be dropped from the bill when it was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, he was quoted by Astro Awani as saying.
Last week, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin described the anti-hopping law as flawed as it lacked provision for action against MPs who went against their party’s stand. He called for a review of the law, saying it contained critical weaknesses that could be exploited.
His remark came following declarations of support by four MPs of Bersatu for the Anwar Ibrahim government.
However, Wan Junaidi said a parliamentary committee had discussed the draft anti-hopping legislation for nearly two months. In order to secure passage of the bill, two clauses were dropped, namely for MPs to vacate their seats if they go against their party or the orders of the party whip.
“If PN did not support the bill, we wouldn’t have obtained a two-thirds majority”, he said. “That’s why the existing law is said to be weak, it’s not that the select committee didn’t know. We knew and we already warned everyone about it, as early as September 2021.”
A two-thirds majority was needed to pass an amendment to the Federal Constitution, enabling a ban on party hopping.
Wan Junaidi said he had already foreseen that MPs would exploit the loophole.
The MPs from Bersatu who recently pledged support for the Anwar Ibrahim government are Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli).
They said they were not leaving the party. However, Suhaili and Iskandar have since been suspended from Bersatu. The four also requested a change in seating.
Last week, former minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Bersatu had opposed the provision when the draft anti-hopping bill was presented to the Cabinet.