All 24 assemblymen present at today’s sitting voted in favour of the bill, including two opposition members. The remaining four assemblymen were absent during the voting session, Utusan Malaysia reported.

Earlier, Melaka chief minister Ab Rauf Yusoh said the bill was tabled to ensure the state constitution was aligned with federal laws.

He stressed that with this new bill, any assemblyman who switched parties will automatically forfeit his or her position in the assembly.

“Under Clause (3) of the new Article 13A, if an assemblyman resigns or is no longer a member of a political party after being elected to the assembly, his or her’s seat shall become vacant as soon as a vacancy date is determined by the state assembly speaker.

“The same provision also applies to an independent candidate who, after being elected to the state assembly, joins a political party,” he was quoted as saying.

Rauf added that the Melaka State Constitution (Amendments) Bill 2023 included a total of five amendments to clauses in the state constitution.

With the passing of the bill, Melaka has become the 10th state to pass the anti-party hopping law after Sabah, Perak, Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Penang and Sarawak.

This follows the passing of the anti-hopping bill by the Dewan Rakyat in July 2022.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.