PENAMPANG: Contrary to opposition claims, there are no loopholes in the recently passed anti-party hopping law and there are no plans to amend it, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Azalina said the Act was enacted by the previous government (PN) and they are now in opposition. It is unfair to blame the government today.
“There are no loopholes. Which government enacted the anti-party hopping law? Now, when they are in the opposition, they claim anti-party hopping law has loopholes.
Didn’t they deal with the loopholes before enacting the law?
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“The seat doesn’t belong to the individual member of Parliament. This is what I am trying to explain,” she said, in conjunction with the launching of “Justice On Wheels” at Dewan Gawir, Kampung Madsiang, Thursday.
Azalina said the present government’s priority is the people. “We have priorities for the people such as ‘Justice On Wheels.
“Whenever you are talking about the Anti-hopping law, we are talking about power, the people are tired of power struggles.
“People want stability so that the government can concentrate on economic development,” she said.
Also present was Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
Azalina said the government is focused on implementing the law, under which MPs will lose their seats if they choose to jump to another party.
Exceptions will be given to MPs who are sacked by their party or if their party is dissolved or deregistered.
In November, Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin described the anti-hopping law as flawed, and called for a review after four Bersatu MPs pledged their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Two more Bersatu MPs have since backed Anwar, the latest being Tanjong Karang MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi, who said yesterday he was supporting Anwar for the sake of his constituents.
In response to Muhyiddin’s statement, former law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told PN not to blame anyone over the anti-hopping law, saying the so-called flaws in the legislation were known and accepted by all parties when the bill was passed.
Wan Junaidi said that when the bill was drafted, he had insisted on including a clause that MPs would automatically vacate their seat if they were to go against the stand of their respective parties in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, the clause was rejected by PN, the opposition coalition, causing it to be dropped from the bill when it was tabled, he was quoted by Astro Awani as saying.
Meanwhile, the Government is committed to ensuring that no people in the country are left out of gaining access to justice and getting the services provided by Legal Aid Department (Jabatan Biro Guaman or JBG).
She stressed that there was no use for the Federal Government to come up with policies and laws if not everyone gets to enjoy its benefits just because they are not aware of the law.
In Sabah, Azalina noted that there were Mobile Courts but no mobile legal aid.
“There is no point in having a mobile court if the people do not know their rights, and there is no point in creating laws if the people do not know how to invoke their rights.
“The court is the tail end, but the initial level is awareness.
“I am very concerned about people living in rural areas as they sometimes become victims of circumstances such as online scammers or sexual offences against children, so more awareness is needed in these areas,” she said, adding that ‘Justice on Wheels’ should move in tandem with the mobile courts.
The mobile legal aid would be going to several districts here this year, in Pitas (February), Telupid (May), Paitan (June), Sukau (September) and Tungku (October).
Those with income of RM50,000 per year are entitled to get legal aid provided JBG. They just need to pay RM10 for each consultation.
Apart from Sabah, 14 Justice on Wheels programmes would be made into a “pilot” this year in Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, and Sarawak. Last year, the Federal Government approved RM1 million for JBG to purchase three vans for the purpose of Justice on Wheels programmes.
“These vans will be used as mobile legal clinics. The vans have been modified with appropriate equipment to provide legal advice services to people in rural areas, including Felda areas in Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah and Sarawak.”
Azalina also acknowledged issues in Sabah such as road accessibility and adaption of 5G technology.
She said such issues are something they need to evaluate and cooperation from all parties are vital in this regard.
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