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GEORGE TOWN, Dec 20 — Umno Penang lawmakers hoping to cross the political divide into the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) should have another think, state executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo said today.
The DAP man said Penang PH will not accept political defectors, citing the state anti-hopping law passed in 2012.
“There is a question as to whether it is constitutional and that in order for it to be enforced, we have to amend the Federal Constitution, but that is a legal matter,” he told a news conference here.
Jagdeep said that there is an even “higher court” than the court of law, which is the “court of conscience”.
“Let me ask the hoppers, where is your conscience when the people, who voted you for the party that you stood for, are now totally dismayed by your decision to hop?” he asked.
Penang’s anti-hopping law was enacted through an amendment to the state constitution in 2012.
Article 14(A)(1) of the Constitution of the State of Penang (Amendment) Enactment 2012 states that a member of the assembly who is elected as a candidate of a political party must vacate his seat if he resigns from his party.
Jagdeep told the state Opposition lawmakers to resign from their elected positions first if they hoped to be part of the ruling coalition so as not to betray their voters.
“You have no right to hold on to the seats because you were voted in under your party,” the Datuk Keramat assemblyman said.
