A day after a new anti-hopping law was approved by the Dewan Rakyat, Mukhriz said automatic termination was not dealt with by law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when winding up the debate on the anti-hopping bill.

Under the proposed new law, MPs will lose their seats if they choose to jump to another party. Exceptions are provided for MPs sacked by their party or if their party is dissolved or deregistered.

Mukhriz said the automatic termination of one’s membership may not be considered a sacking by a party’s constitution. “Which is why a detailed explanation is needed to avoid any confusion,” Sinar Harian quoted him as saying.

Mukhriz, who is Jerlun MP, said Wan Junaidi wound up the debate without dealing with other matters raised by MPs.

He said Wan Junaidi revealed there were seven pages left to read through prior to the vote being taken. “Maybe that’s why there are questions that are still lingering even after it (the bill) was passed.”

He said he was disappointed that many MPs had pushed for the vote to be conducted without even listening to the minister’s explanations.

A total of 209 MPs voted in favour of the bill. Eleven MPs were absent when the voting took place.