Anti-hopping bill doesn’t need Cabinet approval, says Wan Junaidi

The much awaited anti-hopping bill does not require further Cabinet approval as it is now the responsibility of Parliament, says law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

(FMT) – Wan Junaidi said the moment a parliamentary select committee was given the responsibility of drafting and refining the bill, Cabinet approval was no longer required.

“When the bill is passed to the select committee, it becomes the responsibility of Parliament and a memorandum is no longer required to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

“This is because the select committee is an instrument of Parliament and is not under the executive (branch),” he told FMT.

He said all that was required was for the PSC to submit a report to the Cabinet providing answers to the concerns raised on the bill at the last Cabinet meeting.

“I will be submitting a notice to the Cabinet on July 13,” he said. “Not to seek approval from the Cabinet but to notify it of the committee’s explanations to the questions raised.”

Wan Junaidi said when the bill is tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on July 18, all MPs would be given ample time to read through it and deliberate it.

A handful of Cabinet “warlords” were reported last week as trying to stall the bill from being passed before the next general election so that they could later switch parties after the polls to continue remaining in power.

Wan Junaidi has previously said that he hoped the anti-hopping bill would be tabled and implemented before the coming parliamentary elections.

The anti-hopping law was one of the main conditions stipulated under a political agreement between the prime minister and Pakatan Harapan last September. It was supposed to be tabled last March but was delayed.