Rais said the anti-hopping law was irrelevant to the Dewan Negara as senators were not elected by the people but appointed by the respective state governments or the king, Utusan Malaysia reported.

He said the law should only apply to the Dewan Rakyat as MPs were elected by electoral mandates while representing their political parties.

“Senators do not represent the party directly. Their appointments do not explicitly mention the party, only implicitly. Therefore, they cannot claim to represent Umno, Bersatu, or any other party.

“It is different from the Dewan Rakyat, where elected representatives contest on party tickets and are elected by the people. In that context, anti-hopping laws are appropriate, but not for the Dewan Negara,” he said.

The veteran politician, who used to be in Umno before joining Bersatu, was commenting on Tengku Zafrul Aziz’s decision to quit Umno to join PKR.

Umno had asked its legal bureau to look into the implications of Tengku Zafrul’s exit, specifically in terms of the party-hopping law and on his status as a senator.