THE anti-hopping Bill will be tabled in a special Dewan Rakyat sitting on April 11, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

       He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had given his assurance that the Bill would be tabled and debated in the special sitting to be held during the month of Ramadan.

       “I had an opportunity to discuss (this) with the Prime Minister and we agreed that the sitting on April 11 will be held for us to debate the anti-hopping Bill.

       “The Prime Minister has given me his assurance that we will table the Bill and let the MPs decide themselves whether they want to support it or not,” Wan Junaidi told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       He added that the special session would be called under Standing Order 11 (3), which allows the Prime Minister to call for a special parliamentary meeting outside of the set schedule if “public interest requires” it.

       Wan Junaidi said he also took note of some MPs who had asked for the special sitting to be extended by two or three days, as they said that holding the sitting for one day would be insufficient for the debates.

       “There is no problem for Parliament to sit during the fasting month. We used to do this but not anymore.

       “However, there are no problems for Muslims to get matters done during the fasting month,” he added.

       Earlier, Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) asked Wan Junaidi to set a date for the special sitting to table and debate the anti-hopping Bill, which the Prime Minister had committed to.

       “We thank the Prime Minister and, as said by my colleagues, we will support the Bill as a sign that we want the national interest to be upheld,” said Lim.

       Last September, the Perikatan Nasional government signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakatan Harapan to bring about reforms and political stability to the nation.

       Among the terms was that the Opposition would not push for a general election before July 31.

       The reforms include the tabling of anti-hopping laws, and a special bipartisan committee was set up to look into this.

       Last month, Wan Junaidi said the proposed law would be tabled this current Dewan Rakyat meeting, which ended yesterday.

       He had hinted that amendments would be made to the Federal Constitution to stop party hopping rather than passing a specific anti-hopping law for the purpose.

       However, on March 19, Wan Junaidi said that the tabling of the proposed amendments would be delayed or held at a special Dewan Rakyat sitting.

       He said the Cabinet believed the Bill required further consultation through engagement sessions with other stakeholders, particularly Barisan Nasional and Perikatan.