KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Jemut Masing hopes that an anti-hoping law will be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible.
He said such legislation would prevent lawmakers from hopping from one party to another and create political instability as had been done in the past.
“The Federal Constitution must be amended to make it illegal for elected representatives to hop from one political party to another,” he said.
Masing, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, noted that Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin had proposed that Parliament enact an anti-hoping law last year.
“State laws which disallow party hopping is null and void if the Federal Constitution (FC) which guarantees freedom of association is not amended,” he said adding that party hopping by Malaysians lawmakers was a source of embarrassment.
“They just hop at will, thus giving a perception of horse trading and money being transferred in the process.
“Ini kasih malu sahaja (This is shameful) to the profession. No wonder politicians are frowned upon unlike other professionals like teachers, doctors or lawyers,” he said.
