KOTA KINABALU, July 31 — Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor has been urged to break the silence and state his stance on the anti-hopping law following calls from Pakatan Harapan and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) for a special sitting to amend the state constitution to enforce the act in Sabah.

Democratic Action Party Sabah secretary cum Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe said it is unusual for the Chief Minister to remain silent on this matter for two days straight as the Parliament had unanimously passed the anti-hopping law bill with strong majority of 209 votes on July 28.

In contrast, he said the chiefs of PH-led governments in Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang have responded positively promptly to the passing of the bill and promised to table an amendment in their respective state assemblies as soon as possible.

"We all acknowledge that Sabah has encountered numerous downfalls of governments due to political frogs, it is time for us to call for a special sitting to end this political frog culture once and for all. So Sabah can finally get off the tag of the ‘state of political frogs’.

"It is puzzling and bizarre that we as one of the major victims of the political frog culture are not responding to this, what’s the Sabah government’s stance? This should be answered immediately as we do not want a wrong perception that Sabah is not in favour to end the political hopping culture,” said Phoong in a statement on Saturday.

He said the anti-hopping law is actually beneficial for Sabah’s political stability as both GRS and BN do not have simple majority in the state assembly as an individual coalition, this could prevent further political turmoil in Sabah.

"Deputy Chief Minister cum BN Sabah chairman Bung Moktar had also participated in the debate in Parliament recently, he should bring this up in their upcoming weekly cabinet meeting. I hope the Cabinet will discuss and decide on this by August 3,” he said.

Phoong also said DAP has been committed and determined to strengthen Sabah’s democracy and restore confidence of the voters after the Sheraton Move, that’s it is demanding for the anti-hopping law bill through the MoU.

It is glad to see 15 out of 18 points from the MoU have been achieved especially the most important anti-hopping law bill.

"We will continue to pressure the Sabah government to introduce this bill to the Sabah State Assembly as soon as possible to ensure it is implemented before the upcoming elections. The people’s mandate will never be betrayed anymore,” he said.

Phoong urged all main political parties in the Sabah State Assembly to declare their stance towards the bill.

"We should unanimously support this bill in the State Assembly to restore confidence of the voters to our democratic system.

"DAP Sabah and Pakatan Harapan Sabah will continue to fight for more institutional reforms to strengthen our democracy in Sabah and safeguard the interests of Sabahans,” he added. — Borneo Post