Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said his administration's plans to enact a law to prevent state assemblypersons from switching political allegiance mid-term is to protect citizens from a breach of public trust and protecting democracy.

Responding to de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz's claims that such a law was against constitutional guarantees of freedom of association, Lim said such reasons were unwarranted.

"For any elected representative elected on a party ticket to hop or cross over is an immoral, unethical and unprincipled act that shows utter contempt for the democratic choice of their voters.

"If they were elected on the party they represent, they should resign their seat and seek a fresh mandate from the people if they chose to leave the party platform on which they were elected on," said Lim in a press release today.

He argued that democracy meant that voters should be given another opportunity to judge whether the decision by the elected representative to switch allegiance is acceptable, or not.

Federal Court can reverse decision

Lim, who is also the DAP secretary-general, also lambasted MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek for accusing DAP of hypocrisy by recently accepting two former Umno members - former Pulau Manis state assemblyperson Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz and Aspan Alias - as party members.

"Both were not elected representatives. The issue of breach of public trust or betrayal of democratic principles does not arise," he said.

NONE Previously, Lim had said the matter would be proposed to the state exco and is expected to be passed in November.

However, Nazri ( right ) had warned that the Supreme Court, which was succeeded by the Federal Court, had once ruled such a law unconstitutional.

Lim said that there is still opportunity to compel the Federal Court to reverse this decision and there had been precedence of such.

The debate on Pakatan Rakyat policy on accepting serving elected representatives from BN was again reignited by DAP chairperson Karpal Singh.

A veteran lawyer, Karpal had consistently disagreed with PKR's habit of enticing serving elected representatives from joining its ranks, most recently involving two MPs in Sabah.