KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Negara members who party hop should also be subject to anti-hopping laws, said Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz.

       “A number of senators are appointed by the state legislative assemblies including from the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.

       “They can be considered as being elected indirectly,” Nazri (BN-Padang Rengas) told the Dewan Rakyat.

       “These senators should also be tied to the anti-hopping law and should not be allowed to get off scot-free.”

       He cited the example of what happened after the 2018 general election when many Barisan Nasional-appointed senators supported Pakatan Harapan in voting down the anti-fake news Act in Dewan Negara.

       “Although many senators said they were neutral, they willingly party-hopped, resulting in the rejection of the Fake News Act,” he said.

       He said senators appointed to represent certain minority groups should be exempted as they were not political appointees.

       Nazri also agreed with the argument raised by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on amendments to Article 48(6) of the Constitution.

       The article says an elected representative who resigns as an MP will be barred from contesting for five years.

       Nazri said MPs who resign should be allowed to contest again to let voters decide their fate.

       He said the anti-hopping laws should not only focus on the freedom of association by politicians but more on the rights of voters.

       “Don’t talk about their (an elected representative) rights. What about the rights of the voters?

       “Their rights are more important than that of politicians,” he said.

       Meanwhile, Larry Sng (Ind-Julau) suggested that independent candidates be exempted from the proposed anti-party hopping law.

       He said this was to protect the interest of independents who contested based on their own credibility during an election.

       “The law is here not to protect the party but the mandate of the people,” he added.

       Sng said independent candidates do not rely on any party logo, funding or political narrative, adding that most of the time, the candidates form their own judgments moving forward.

       “If we look at the last general election (GE14), three independent MPs were elected.

       “I support this Bill, but I hope that an exemption will be given to these independent MPs as their situation is different from MPs fielded by political parties,” he added.

       P. Prabakaran (Batu), Jugah Muyang (Lubok Antu) and Sng were the three independents who won in GE14.

       All three joined PKR but Sng and Muyang quit to become independents again.

       On Feb 28 last year, Sng quit PKR to become a Federal Government-friendly Independent.

       He was appointed president of Parti Bangsa Malaysia on Jan 8 this year.