Kota Kinabalu: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) urged the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-BN State Government to quickly pass the Anti-Hop Law at state level.
PBS President Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said this needs to be done within the next two months and “our seven YBs (elected representatives) are ready to lead in tabling the Anti-Hop Law enactment at the Sabah State Legislative Assembly sitting.”
Speaking following the passing of the much anticipated Anti-Hop Law at the Dewan Rakyat sitting, Thursday, Maximus said the enactment does not apply to the state legislative assemblies in Sabah and Sarawak.
Therefore it is important for both states to table the law at their respective state levels.
“A special sitting must be called to pass this law at the state levels in the next 60 days, and to us in PBS, after 37 years, this is truly a dream come true and a recognition to the party’s struggle to ensure political stability, not just in the State, but the country as a whole,” he said.
Being among the pioneers in anti-hop law, Maximus said PBS had always opposed such behaviour, describing the frog-leaping tradition as sinful and unprincipled politics.
“To us, it is evil, unfair, devoid of good ethics and manners. PBS tried to put a stop to party hopping by passing a law in the State legislature in 1988 to prevent assemblymen from defecting but it was declared null and void by the High Court.
“We were lonely in this struggle, but now all our hard work paid off,” said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs).
In Sabah, the first known “political frog” was the late Datuk Payar Juman who won the Kiulu seat on an Upko ticket during the state’s first direct election in 1967.
Although his defection to Usno brought the downfall of Upko, personally he gained by being made the Welfare Minister in then Chief Minister Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun’s Cabinet.
“After that, Sabah politics was corrupted by the leap-frogging tradition, causing political instability.
“And Upko President Datuk Seri Madius Tangau repeated history when he abandoned Barisan Nasional (BN) to form a government with Parti Warisan in 2018, despite signing a memorandum with PBS and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) at the Presidential Council that same year.
“That is a classic example of political betrayal of comrades in pursuit of political posts and personal benefits,” he said.
Maximus believes that with the passing of the Anti-Hop Law, which is expected to be gazetted in September, political stability would be restored and create more politicians with principles and integrity.
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