KUALA LUMPUR: The Constitution (Amendment) Bill that prohibits Members of Parliament from switching parties does not apply to senators or the members of the Dewan Negara, says the Prime Minister.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, when tabling the Bill for the second reading at the Dewan Negara yesterday, said the matter was agreed upon by the Special Select Committee after taking feedback into consideration, reported Bernama.
“This is because there are two categories of members of the Dewan Negara, namely those appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and those selected by their state based on their membership in the state assembly, representing their respective political parties.
“Therefore, the provision to ban party-hopping at this level does not apply to the members of Dewan Negara, taking into consideration several aspects of the legislation at the state level, other than the fact that it requires consultation and consent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong if it involves members who were appointed by the King.
“All senators and other stakeholders will be provided with an explanation through an engagement session first before the amendment to the Constitution on party-hopping be made for members of Dewan Negara,” he said.
Separately, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Ismail Sabri would be informing all state governments to amend their respective state constitutions in line with the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) on the provision that prohibits MPs from switching parties.
“I have discussed with the Prime Minister and requested that after we pass this Bill at Dewan Negara, the Prime Minister sends a letter to all states, as raised by the senators, so that we standardise the amendment in all states.
“(This includes) states that have and have not yet made amendments to follow our schedule as mentioned in the constitutional amendment so that each state standardises with what we have done at the federal level,” he said.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022 yesterday obtained the support of 52 of 60 senators after two bloc votes, which is more than two-thirds of Dewan Negara.
Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim, when announcing the matter, said that seven senators were not present.
Wan Junaidi said that the provision prohibiting members of a State Legislative Assembly from changing parties would only come into force in the states on a date set by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the consensus of the respective Sultans or governors.
“We see the importance of the state assembly being given its own independence on the decisions that the ruling Sultan, governor or Yang di-Pertua Negeri will make in the state after consultation with His Majesty, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong; only then can we standardise the matter, because this is also contained in this amendment,” he said.
On July 28, the constitutional amendment dubbed the anti-hopping Bill was passed by the Dewan Rakyat after it received two-thirds majority support from MPs through bloc voting.