The Sheraton Move of 2020 saw the collapse of Malaysia’s coalition government. A 2022 anti-hopping law has some utility, but it is ridden with loopholes, says an ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute academic.
Malaysia 's Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, center left, delivers the 2025 budget speech at parliament in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 18, 2024. KUALA LUMPUR: In parliamentary democracies, the electorate determines which party or coalition controls parliament and forms the next government. Regrettably, the practice of “party-hopping”, “floor crossing” or “defection” can subvert this democratic right.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, acting on a complaint, is charged with the duty to “establish” that a vacancy has arisen on one of three grounds: The MP was elected on a political party or coalition’s ticket but “resigned” from the party or the coalition; he or she was elected as an independent candidate but joined a political party or a coalition; or he or she has “ceased to be a member of the party or coalition”.
Anti-party hopping laws to ensure political stability, prevent endless crisis: Malaysia PM Ismail SabriHowever, Article 49A is fatally defective in failing to clearly distinguish between “ceasing to be a member” and being “expelled” from the party. The matter is, therefore, open to interpretation. It is unclear whose interpretation - the courts, aggrieved political parties or the Speaker of the House - should prevail.
Another undesirable feature of the 2022 amendment is that though individual MPs are locked down, parties and coalitions are free to realign at any time. This means that a mid-term Sheraton Move-type realignment that the nation witnessed in 2020 and 2021 is possible. This is unethical and a serious breach of the electoral trust owed to voters.
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