Bangi MP says anti-party-hopping Bill a 'game-changer', would have stopped 'Sheraton Move'

KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — The proposed Bill to amend the Federal Constitution and prevent lawmakers from switching parties is a momentous institutional reform that would have prevented the "Sheraton Move" in February 2020 if it existed earlier, DAP's Ong Kian Ming said today.

He lauded the proposed amendments to Article 49A as more than reasonable and described them as a "game changer" for Malaysian politics, especially in a setting in which there are political manoeuvres to change government by manipulating the numbers of MPs and their support.

"Firstly, all of the Umno MPs who left their party after the 14th General Election to join Bersatu would have their seats declared vacant and by-elections would have been held in each of these seats.

"Of course, knowing that their seats would be automatically vacated if they left Umno to join another party, it is likely that these MPs would not have left Umno.

"Similarly, the MPs who left PKR to join Bersatu as part of the 'Sheraton Move' would not have wanted to leave knowing that they would have to face the electorate in a by-election in their respective seats," he said in a statement.

The DAP lawmaker said the amendments, if passed, would increase the level of confidence among voters that the candidates they vote for in GE15 would remain in their respective parties after the general election.

Under the proposed amendments, a seat would be declared vacant if an MP who was elected as an independent candidate were to join a political party.

This meant that independents who win their seats in a general election or a by-election would not be able to "sell" himself or herself to a political party in exchange for positions or other benefits.

In addition, MPs who have been elected as a member of a political party who then joins another party would also have their seat vacated and cease to be a member of the Lower House of Parliament.

However, there are some conditions under which an MP who changes party will not be forced to vacate his or her seat, namely if their party is deregistered for some reason, resigns from their party to become the Speaker or expulsion from their party.

"Some have used the example of how MPs like Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman stood his ground for principled reasons against the 'Sheraton Move' and were subsequently sacked from Bersatu as a good reason for not vacating the seats of such MPs," he said.

But Ong conceded it would be challenging to pass a constitutional amendment which would prevent an entire party from leaving one coalition to join another, before stressing that Bersatu would not have the majority in Parliament to topple the Pakatan Harapan if anti-hopping provisions were already in place since it would have been difficult to 'entice' MPs from PKR and Umno to join the party the infamous Sheraton Move.

He also acknowledged the possibility of 'recalcitrant' MPs who may use the aforementioned clause in the FC to stir up trouble within their party such as going against the party whip and voting in support of motions and laws from the other side of the political aisle in order to be sacked and join another party without having to lose their seat.

"But I think such occurrences will be relatively rare," he said.

The anti-party hopping Bill is among a number of institutional reforms anticipated to be debate in Parliament in this sitting.

The fifth session of the 14th Parliament started last Monday and is scheduled to last until August 4 at the Dewan Rakyat and from August 8 to 16 at the Dewan Negara.