SAPP proposes amendment to federal constitution on freedom of association

Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee has reminded parties that the 'anti-hopping' law was part of the Sabah state constitution until 1986.

KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee has called for amendment to the federal and state constitutions to allow for a law to prevent politicians from betraying the trust of the electorate.

Yong, the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) leader, said today that his party wishes to reiterate its stand calling for the enactment of the “anti-hop” law which the courts have ruled is illegal under the current laws.

He said his party’s stand on this was consistent and in its election manifesto launched on June 3 this year, it had proposed an amendment to Article 10 of the Federal Cconstitution on “freedom of association” so that elected representatives who switch parties after an election, must resign their seats to pave the way for a by-election.

Yong and several other opposition politicians are fuming over the political culture that has sprouted under Barisan Nasional rule that not only turns a blind eye to such behaviour but also rewards it.

“SAPP proposes that representatives who hop may re-contest in the same constituency so that he may put his decision [to change parties] to his electorate,” Yong said in a statement here today.

He said this rule (to re-contest) would require a further amendment to the Article 48(6) of the Federal Constitution and (for Sabah) Article 17(5) of the Sabah constitution, which bars a resigning representative from being elected to Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly for a period of five years beginning with the date of the resignation.

“These proposed amendments to the constitutions are in accordance with democratic principles. With Sabah’s history of party-hopping for the wrong reasons, it is the view of SAPP that we need these ‘anti-hopping’ and ‘re-contest’ principles to be entrenched in our political culture by way of amending the federal and state constitutions,” he said.

Yong also reminded that the “anti-hopping” law had been part of the Sabah state constitution in 1986 before the federal court ruled that the provision was ultra vires the Federal Constitution which guarantees freedom of association.

After the 1986 state election, the then Parti Bersatu Sabah state government had accepted two Usno assemblymen into PBS before quickly closing the doors to party hopping by amending the state constitution to disallow further crossovers.

Upko, PBS support ‘anti-hop’

One casualty of the anti-hop provision in Sabah was the then Bongawan assemblyman, Karim Ghani, who left Usno which resulted in a by-election that saw the election of (the late) Ghani Bidin.
Yong was commenting on the issue after Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state was looking at enacting an anti-hopping law in November, ahead of the 13th general election which must be called by next April.

United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president Bernard Dompok supports a review of the law to prevent party hopping if those who resign from a party after winning an election on another platform are allowed to stand in the by-election.

“It is very unfortunate that an elected representative who resigns or is forced to resign for some reasons and subsequently joins other party, is not allowed to offer himself as candidate in the ensuing by-election,” the Primary Industries and Commodities Minister said yesterday.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan has also come out in favour of reviewing the anti-hopping law to stop the politicians from changing parties.

Queville To