PETALING JAYA: PAS is supporting calls for the proposed law to prevent party hopping, saying it is needed to avoid destabilising the country.

       Its deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said party- hopping, which could result in a change of government, could affect the country’s stability.

       “There needs to be a law related to party hopping. If not, it is not impossible that there will be a change of government.

       “If there is a (anti-hopping) law, those who win will not leave and hop to other parties,” he said during a ceramah aired on the Kelantan TV portal on Monday.

       Currently, there is no prohibition for lawmakers to switch parties owing to the freedom of association under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.

       Tuan Ibrahim said PAS had taken several steps to keep its lawmakers in check, including by way of an oath.

       “If they win, they must promise not to hop. If they hopped, they would be earning illicit income,” he added.

       On the coming general election, Tuan Ibrahim, who is Kubang Kerian MP, said the Dewan Rakyat should be dissolved as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic eased to allow the mandate to be returned to the rakyat.

       PAS, he added, would mobilise its existing election machinery to prepare for the polls, including maximising the use of social media platforms to reach out to supporters in light of the current Covid-19 situation.