This comes after months of deliberation by the parliamentary select committee tasked with drafting the bill and nearly a year after Ismail and Pakatan Harapan signed their memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The tabling of the anti-hopping bill is one of the key conditions of the pact between Ismail and PH.

“The government views party-hopping and defections seriously, as such actions have sparked numerous debates and controversies,” Ismail told the Dewan Rakyat.

“Party-hopping and defections negatively impact the mandate and trust of the people, who voted for their elected representatives.”

The bill had been slated to be tabled in March but was delayed.

Earlier this month, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he expected the law to be implemented by the end of September if the bill was passed during this current Dewan Rakyat meeting.

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