KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — DAP will hold a special congress this September 25 to amend its party’s constitution to be in line with the recently gazetted anti-party hopping Bill.
Its national organising secretary Steven Sim said the amendment is to close a loophole that could allow any of its lawmakers to quit the party and become an independent representative before joining another political party, thereby circumventing the new law to prevent party-hopping which could destabilise the government.
"When the law was debated in Parliament, the minister said the loophole could be closed by the party’s constitution so that is what we are doing.
"DAP is among the first parties to support the anti-hopping law and we will amend our constitution to close the loophole,” he told a press conference at its national party headquarters today.
Sim said the amendments will affect Sections 3 and 9 of the party’s constitution, which empowers the DAP's central executive council and secretary-general to penalise its representatives in the Dewan Rakyat, Dewan Negara and any state legislative assembly who fail to follow party orders.
Sim said 3,672 delegates are eligible to attend the special congress which will be held at the Ideas Convention Centre in in Shah Alam, Selangor next week.
He added that the party will also launch its GE15 election machinery during the congress.
The anti-party hopping Bill was passed with much fanfare and the support of two-thirds of the Dewan Rakyat last July.
The Bill was also part of the memorandum of understanding signed between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the PH coalition.
Specifically, it is an amendment of the Federal Constitution, which includes the addition of Article 49A (pertaining to members of Parliament) and a change to the Eight Schedule (pertaining to assemblymen).
With the amendments, MPs and assemblymen stand to lose their seats if they switch parties, or if they join one after being elected as an independent.
There are three exceptions, however: the dissolution or cancellation of the registration of the politician’s party; the expulsion of the politician from his party; or the politician resigning from his party upon becoming Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat or his respective state assembly.
The constitutional amendment to prohibit the political defection of elected representatives was gazetted on September 8, but its enforcement is deferred to a date to be announced by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
