KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah anti-party hopping laws should be extended to nominated assemblymen as well, said Sabah Law Society president Roger Chin.
Chin, who applauded the passing of the anti-party hopping bill in the state, said the laws applied only to elected candidates who switched parties or coalitions at a later stage, and they did not apply to nominated assemblymen.
"Sabah's constitution provides that the ruling state government can appoint up to six nominated assemblymen, whose rights and privileges are the same as an elected assemblyman, and are equal in all respects with elected representatives, who together form the Sabah State Legislative Assembly and who may even become chief minister.
"We must remember that the nominated assemblymen are appointed by the ruling government, supposedly elected by the people. Therefore, these nominated assemblymen should be supporting the government of the day.
"In spite of the fact that nominated assemblymen lack a constituency and are not elected, they nevertheless have the ability to form new state governments, even though they were appointed by the then ruling government elected by the people. For this reason alone, the Sabah anti-party hopping laws should apply to them as well," Chin said in a statement today.
Chin said with 73 state constituencies, Sabah had sufficient representation for the diverse voices of its people.
However, he said, it was time for the state to look into the need for nominated members in the state assembly and assess whether the system should be abolished for being outdated.
Chin said the state's political history is filled with instances of nominated assemblymen leaving the ruling government and joining forces with the opposition to form state governments not elected by the people.
In fact, he said, there was a precedence for such a call.
"The Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) government in its wisdom, after winning the 1986 state elections, had taken action to amend Article 18(2)(d) of the state constitution (subsequently repealed) without prior consultation with Kuala Lumpur.
"The constitutional amendment, which was duly assented to by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri on May 20, 1986, among others, specified that assemblymen who left the party on whose platform they had been elected to join another party would have to resign and face a by-election.
"The amendment was introduced to prevent the constant practice of unprincipled politicians switching parties in search of the best financial prize for their political allegiance."
Chin added that under the amendment, if an elected or nominated assemblyman were to "resign or be expelled from their political party, or for any other reason whatsoever cease to be a member of the political party to which they belong", they would be required to vacate their seat in the assembly.
"Some may argue that the PBS amendment does not go far enough, as a nominated assembly person may not have any affiliation with a political party. Therefore, any future amendment should encompass such a person, regardless of their party membership status.
"In tandem, what should also be the centre of focus is the role and need for nominated assemblymen today.
"Traditionally, the rationale of nominated members of a legislative body is to bring more independent voices into Parliament, to provide alternative nonpartisan views in the legislature, as well as to ensure representation for minorities and underrepresented groups.
"Sabah's nominated assemblymen have always been appointed for their support of the state government," he said.
Chin said due to the repealing of Article 6(7) of the State Constitution, as voted for by 75 of the 79 members of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri has effectively lost guidance on the process of appointing a Chief Minister.
During the recent state assembly sitting, the deletion of Article 6(7) was tabled together with the anti-party hopping bill.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said Article 6(7) was deemed irrelevant to the appointment of the chief minister under Article 6(3) due to the current political situation.