KOTA KINABALU, Sept 12 — The Sabah government has agreed to table a constitutional amendment Bill to adopt new laws to discourage lawmakers from switching parties at the next state assembly sitting in November.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan said the state government has decided to table the new laws at a scheduled sitting, and not a special sitting as previously reported.
“The Sabah legislative assembly will be tabling it during the coming sitting in November,” he said after witnessing the launch of AirAsia Ride in Sabah today.
Sabah is among three states — the other two being Selangor and Perak — that have openly pledged to take up the laws after federal anti-hopping laws were passed in Parliament in July.
Previously, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said his Cabinet agreed to the Bill to ensure political stability, and that there would be a special state assembly sitting to table it.
“Party-hopping” is prevalent among politicians in Sabah, which famously resulted in Barisan Nasional (BN) forming the state government in 1994 through defections right after the general election.
More recently, defections also allowed Warisan to form the state government in 2018.
On July 28, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment which added stipulations forcing MPs to vacate their seat should they switch party membership.
However, Parliament intentionally made provisions to make it optional for states to adopt similar laws.
Meanwhile, Kitingan, who is also Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s deputy chairman, said that he hopes the federal government and the state can reach a consensus on giving Sabah and Sarawak 35 per cent share of the total parliamentary seats and that it would be in effect by the next general election.
He said that he also hopes discussions between The Special Council on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MKMA63) will come to fruition and reflect the equal partnership among Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
“It will take time. We know it cannot be done immediately, so I hope will be done, not now, but before the next general election,” he said.
“Additional seats will reflect the equal sharing of Malaysia. It is a good recognition and shows that perhaps one day we can have a prime minister or deputy prime minister from Sabah or Sarawak,” he said.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili recently said the matter was deliberated and endorsed during the fifth MKMA63 meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said that more engagements were required over the issue, especially among serving Borneo legislators and legal practitioners before it could be implemented.
