KUCHING, Jan 21: Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen is calling upon Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to enact an anti-hopping law to “preserve and defend the sanctity of democracy” in Sarawak.
Chong, who is also Padungan assemblyman, said with the confirmation by de facto Law Minister Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar that the government shall table the law in the coming March 2022 Parliament sitting, the single most important purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the government seems likely to be achieved.
“When the elected PH Government was toppled in the ‘Sheraton Move’, many were disappointed. Party-hopping was seen as the single most important factor that made such a coup possible.
“Those who voted for change were not only disappointed, but felt disillusioned and lost confidence in our democracy.
“To them, there is no point to vote anymore because those who were elected can then use the people’s mandate to self-enrich by hopping from party to party,” he said in a statement today.
According to Chong, the effect of this party-hopping has also caused political instability in the country.
He said with the advent of this anti-hopping law, it will put an end to what he termed to be an abuse of the electoral process.
He also said more importantly, this will restore public confidence in the country’s democracy, reassuring them that the person who the people had voted for can no longer switch parties on a whim.
“The anti-hopping law is now a possibility because of the specific demand by PH for the law provided in the MOU, and secondly, Ismail Sabri is in a precarious position as the Prime Minister,” he added. — DayakDaily
