Nazri: Anti-hopping law would breach constitution

The government has stated that any law to prohibit elected representatives from hopping from one party to another would go against Article 10 of the federal constitution which protects freedom of association. 

In a written reply to DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh (right), it said people should be free to join or leave any party "without having to vacate their seats" as a penalty.

Karpal had asked the prime minister if the government would support Pakatan Rakyat MPs in proposing a change to the federal constitution to bring in an ‘anti-hopping law’. 

However, the reply from Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, sidestepped the question.

He said that any amendment to the constitution "is an issue of policy which needs to be studied as a whole, next to other related laws".

Existing laws do not empower the Election Commission (EC) to determine penalties against elected representatives who change parties, he said. 

The federal and respective state constitutions, as well as the Elections Act 1958, only authorise the EC to determine whether or not a seat is vacant after receiving notice from the speaker of Parliament or a state assembly. 

The DAP-led Penang government had last month announced that it intends to table a Bill at its November sitting, to prevent state assemblypersons from defecting mid-term.