The anti-hop law
Malaysia’s anti-hop law explains when an elected representative can lose their seat for changing party membership—and why it does not stop every form of political realignment.
The short answer
The anti-hop law is a constitutional rule, in force since 5 October 2022, that focuses on party membership rather than every political disagreement or alliance change. It was passed with cross-party support in 2022 after Parliament amended the Federal Constitution to insert Article 49A.
For an MP elected under a party, leaving or ceasing to belong to that party normally makes the seat vacant. An independent MP who joins a party also triggers the rule. The Speaker establishes a vacancy after written notice, then the Election Commission is to hold an election for the seat within the constitutional timetable.
There are important limits. An MP does not lose the seat solely because the party expels them, is dissolved or deregistered, or because the MP becomes Speaker. The official Bill material also says that MPs do not automatically lose seats when their whole party leaves one coalition for another — though that example does not appear in the text of Article 49A(2) itself, which lists only those three exceptions.
The law is closely associated with the Sheraton Move of February 2020. Bersatu left the PH coalition, Mahathir Mohamad resigned on 24 February, and Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Prime Minister on 1 March. The period showed how changes in party alignment could change the federal government without a general election, and it helped create the political conditions for the 2022 amendment.
Its practical reach remains debated. Azalina Othman Said said MPs could support a Prime Minister without triggering Article 49A if they remained in their parties, while Dr Oh Ei Sun said party-level alliance changes meant the law could not guarantee stability. Disputes over Bersatu MPs’ seats, and the Federal Court’s January 2026 decision concerning the Speaker’s powers in the Sabah case, show that questions of interpretation and enforcement remain significant.
What the sources say
The constitutional change
Malaysia’s “anti-hop law” is a constitutional amendment, the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 2022 (Act A1663), rather than a separate ordinary Act of Parliament.
Act A1663 inserted Article 49A into the Federal Constitution, amended Articles 10, 48 and 160, and added Section 7A to the Eighth Schedule.
Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2022Journal of the Malaysian Parliament
The Dewan Rakyat passed the Bill on 28 July 2022, with 209 of the 220 MPs present voting in favour and 11 absent.
The Dewan Negara approved the amendment on 9 August 2022, and it came into force on 5 October 2022.
The earlier 1992 Nordin Salleh decision had struck down a Kelantan anti-hopping provision as inconsistent with constitutional freedom of association; the later constitutional amendment provided the basis for the 2022 federal provisions.
Malaysian BarFederal Court ruling on Penang’s anti-hopping law reported by The Edge Malaysia
What Article 49A does
Under Article 49A, an MP elected as a member of a political party ceases to be an MP if the MP resigns from, or ceases to be, a member of that party; an independent MP also loses the seat if they later join a political party.
Article 49A does not make an MP lose their seat solely because their party is dissolved or deregistered, because the MP resigns on becoming Speaker, or because the party expels the MP.
Act A1663 added a definition of “political party” to Article 160(2), and that definition expressly includes a coalition of societies registered under federal law.
The Bill’s official explanatory material gives the example that MPs do not lose their seats merely because their party leaves one coalition, whether or not it joins or forms another coalition. The enacted text of Article 49A(2) does not itself list a coalition change among its three exceptions, so this rests on the explanatory statement rather than on the words of the Article.
A casual vacancy under Article 49A is established by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker after written notice; the Speaker must notify the Election Commission within 21 days, and the Commission must hold an election within 60 days of receiving that notification.
The amendment removed the former five-year disqualification for an MP who resigns from the House, allowing an MP who vacates a seat to contest again.
Section 7A of the Eighth Schedule introduced corresponding constitutional provisions on changes of party membership for state assembly members.
Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2022Journal of the Malaysian Parliament
The Sheraton context
The events commonly called the “Sheraton Move” began on 23 February 2020 and involved political realignments that ended the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government.
Bersatu left the PH coalition during the 2020 crisis.
Mahathir Mohamad resigned as Prime Minister on 24 February 2020 and was appointed interim Prime Minister later that day.
Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth Prime Minister on 1 March 2020.
Reporting at the time and later accounts described the 2022 amendment as a bipartisan response to the 2020 political crisis and party defections.
Malay MailAttorney General’s speech on constitutional reforms
Later application
In December 2023, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said said that opposition MPs who pledged support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had not breached the anti-hop provisions because they had not left their parties.
Bernama report republished by MalaysiakiniThe Malaysian Insight
In July 2024, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul decided that six former Bersatu MPs’ seats were not vacant; Bersatu had sought vacancies after their memberships were revoked.
On 9 January 2026, the Federal Court, by a 2–1 majority, refused Bersatu leave to appeal a Speaker’s refusal to declare four Sabah parliamentary seats vacant; the majority said the Speaker’s constitutional powers in that case were non-justiciable unless exercised outside those powers.
Article 49A has not operated across multiple parliamentary terms, so its long-term effect on party switching and government stability remains uncertain.
In 2024 the Speaker declined to declare a Bersatu MP’s seat vacant while litigation concerning party membership was pending; a 2023 High Court decision concerning an earlier Speaker ruling treated that determination as protected by parliamentary privilege.
No enacted amendment has been located that addresses coalition-wide changes or an MP supporting a different prime minister while remaining in the party.
Parliament and Attorney General’s Chambers legislative records searched; no responsive enacted amendment located
Where accounts differ
No winner is picked.
Dr Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said in 2022 that the law would not guarantee short-term political stability because it does not prevent an entire party from changing alliances.
Ibrahim Suffian of Merdeka Center said the provisions could improve prospects for government stability and respond to voters’ dissatisfaction with individual representatives changing parties.
Bersih said Speaker Johari Abdul had misunderstood the law when he did not declare the six former Bersatu MPs’ seats vacant, while the Speaker’s decision remained that the seats were not vacant.
In the January 2026 Sabah case, Federal Court Justice Azizah Nawawi dissented, saying the case raised novel and important questions about interpreting Article 49A.
Common questions
What is the anti-hop law in Malaysia?
It is a constitutional rule that can make a parliamentary seat vacant when an MP elected for a political party resigns from, or stops being a member of, that party. It also applies to an independent MP who later joins a political party. The rule was introduced through the 2022 constitutional amendment that inserted Article 49A into the Federal Constitution.
What happens if an MP leaves their party?
The MP normally ceases to be an MP and the seat becomes vacant. After written notice, the Dewan Rakyat Speaker determines whether there is a vacancy, must notify the Election Commission within 21 days, and the Commission must hold an election within 60 days of receiving that notice.
Does an MP lose the seat if the party expels them?
No, not solely because the party expels them. Article 49A also does not make an MP lose the seat solely because the party is dissolved or deregistered, or because the MP resigns on becoming Speaker. These are different from an MP personally resigning from, or ceasing to belong to, the party that elected them.
Does the law stop a party from changing coalitions?
No, the official explanatory material says MPs do not lose their seats merely because their party leaves one coalition, whether or not the party joins or forms another. That coalition example is in the explanatory statement, rather than being one of the three exceptions listed in Article 49A(2) itself.
Can an MP support another Prime Minister without losing the seat?
Yes, according to a December 2023 statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said, opposition MPs who pledged support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had not breached the anti-hop provisions because they had not left their parties. The rule focuses on party membership, not every decision about whom an MP supports as Prime Minister.
Still open
- How Article 49A will apply to future disputed party-membership cases with different party rules or facts.