Legal expert fears scope of constitutional amendment
Lawyer says with the proposed amendment, laws can be enacted with a simple majority in Parliament. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: A legal expert has questioned the proposed constitutional amendment that is meant to allow the anti-hopping bill to be tabled.
Philip Koh, an adjunct professor at Universiti Malaya (UM), said the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution appears to provide for passage of federal legislation to overrule the extant decisions of the Federal Court.
He added that his key concern was if such an amendment could be made given the nature and scope of the proposed federal law.
“Once the proposed amendment is passed by a two-thirds majority, laws can be made by a simple majority in Parliament which can mean control of political parties,” he told FMT.
He added that this could be through amendments to the Societies Act that grants powers to the Registrar of Society (RoS) and the home ministry.
“The relationship of any laws on disqualification of MPs, for example as a result of party hopping, with Article 48 (on disqualification of MPs) is also important. These are some of the unresolved questions,” Koh said.
Yesterday, Subang MP Wong Chen said the constitutional amendment bill was “too wide” and that it “must be tightened and narrowed to the context of anti-hopping only”.
Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of association. However, it also empowers Parliament to restrict this right on grounds of national security.
The proposed amendment to Article 10 contains a new clause that provides the power for federal laws to be enacted to restrict the membership in a political party of MPs and state assembly members.
The government has said that the constitution must be amended to provide the power to table the anti-hopping bill, which opposition parties have clamoured for.
In a brief text message to FMT today, PKR’s Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah also expressed her frustration at the draft of the proposed amendment to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
“I am very disappointed because it was not what was discussed. This is totally beyond anti-hopping,” she said.
The constitutional amendment is scheduled to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat on April 11. The anti-hopping bill was originally scheduled to be tabled on that date but has been postponed after differences of opinion in the Cabinet.
PETALING JAYA: A legal expert has questioned the proposed constitutional amendment that is meant to allow the anti-hopping bill to be tabled.
Philip Koh, an adjunct professor at Universiti Malaya (UM), said the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution appears to provide for passage of federal legislation to overrule the extant decisions of the Federal Court.
He added that his key concern was if such an amendment could be made given the nature and scope of the proposed federal law.
“Once the proposed amendment is passed by a two-thirds majority, laws can be made by a simple majority in Parliament which can mean control of political parties,” he told FMT.
He added that this could be through amendments to the Societies Act that grants powers to the Registrar of Society (RoS) and the home ministry.
“The relationship of any laws on disqualification of MPs, for example as a result of party hopping, with Article 48 (on disqualification of MPs) is also important. These are some of the unresolved questions,” Koh said.
Yesterday, Subang MP Wong Chen said the constitutional amendment bill was “too wide” and that it “must be tightened and narrowed to the context of anti-hopping only”.
Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of association. However, it also empowers Parliament to restrict this right on grounds of national security.
The proposed amendment to Article 10 contains a new clause that provides the power for federal laws to be enacted to restrict the membership in a political party of MPs and state assembly members.
The government has said that the constitution must be amended to provide the power to table the anti-hopping bill, which opposition parties have clamoured for.
In a brief text message to FMT today, PKR’s Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah also expressed her frustration at the draft of the proposed amendment to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
“I am very disappointed because it was not what was discussed. This is totally beyond anti-hopping,” she said.
The constitutional amendment is scheduled to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat on April 11. The anti-hopping bill was originally scheduled to be tabled on that date but has been postponed after differences of opinion in the Cabinet.
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