KUCHING: Julau MP Larry Sng finds the proposed Anti-Party Hopping Bill to be tabled on April 11 controversial.
He said that the bill, if passed, would strengthen the party hierarchy and be a deterrent to elected representatives to defect or be sacked by their respective parties, thus ensuring that those who were elected on a party ticket should remain committed to the party for the duration of their term.
“However, the downside of this law is that the power in the party will be concentrated even further in the hands of the president, who can decide to sack his rivals in the party and force a by-election.
“This is undemocratic and though it can be debated as to whether there are sufficient checks in place to ensure that any sacking is conducted properly, the reality is party disciplinary actions are largely left unsupervised,” he said in his Facebook posting.
Another downside, he said, was the diminished role of independents in the democratic process.
“Although there are often hundreds of independent candidates in every election, their chances of winning a seat is often below one per cent.
“Those who won were often elected on their own merits and should be given the freedom of association with the party of their choice. This law doesn’t however allow for that,” Sng said.
He stressed that independents who won on their own ticket had never in the history of this country triggered the collapse of an elected government.
“Only those who have defected from their parties after having won the election, are the real cause of concern,” he said.
Therefore, Sng said that the government should allow elected independents to be exempted from the anti-hopping law.
