KUCHING: The anti-hopping bill together with the removal of the constitutional disqualification of an elected representative who resigned from their seat is hoped to bring stability to the country’s politics and government.
Deputy Minister in the Premier Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala said this will stop politicians from jumping parties without valid reasons.
“They (politicians) will have to resign from their original party before re-contesting the same seat under a different party.
“With the anti-hopping bill together with the removal of the constitutional disqualification of elected representatives from contesting in an election for five years after resigning from the seat, this will ensure that the wakil rakyat cannot join another party without having to go for a by-election to get a fresh mandate from the voters of the constituency,” he told New Sarawak Tribune when contacted today.
The vice president of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) was commenting on the just passed anti-hopping bill at the Dewan Rakyat.
He added that the bill would not stop elected representatives from changing parties except that they would have to resign and get the fresh mandate of the voters who will have the opportunity to decide whether or not to vote for the elected representatives of their choice.
“This will ensure that the voters have the final say and the wakil rakyat will not regard their election win as a blank cheque to jump from party to party without going back to the voters,” he said.
