JOHOR BARU: Voters in Melaka should throw their support behind parties that are committed to anti-party hopping, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (pic).
The former law minister proposed the Hybrid Bill to tackle the issue by giving the rakyat the power to sack their elected representative who jumps to another party.
"The Bill, which will be known as the Party-Hopping Regulation and Political Accountability Act, is needed to address the issue of many politicians hopping parties, which creates political instability and affects the nation's development.
"It will also give confidence to the people to go out and vote and have faith in the democratic system," said the Umno’s Pengerang MP on Twitter Tuesday (Nov 2).
She noted that the Bill gives the people the power to file a petition with the Election Commission (EC) to fire their elected representative who defects to another party.
Once the petition is accepted, the politician's seat will be vacated to make way for a by-election, she said.
Azalina, who is the former deputy Parliament speaker, said it could also help with Melaka's political crisis.
"This mechanism could be used in Melaka as well to deter politicians from party-hopping after the upcoming state polls.
"Melaka voters should put their support behind a party that is committed to presenting this Bill," she said.
The Bill, she added, required an amendment to the state constitution and this could only take place if the winning party won the by-election by a two-thirds majority.
"The parties could pledge a manifesto to back the anti-hopping measures and deny the entry of 'frogs' into their fold," she said.
Azalina said, however, that under the proposed Bill, if the majority of the voters in a certain seat reached an agreement to support the politician's move to party-hop, any petition to remove him or her from the seat would not be successful.
If the elected representative was removed, the politician could still contest in a by-election that followed to earn the rakyat's mandate, she added.