Its information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad said the party fundamentally agreed with the anti-hopping law, saying it would stabilise national politics.

He said the Kelantan state assembly and the PAS-led state administration had also amended the state constitution and passed an anti-hopping law that came into force retrospectively since November 1990.

“We’ve seen how this (party-hopping) can harm national politics. Under the current circumstances, PAS welcomes any cooperation to create a stable political environment, even with opposition parties,” he said according to a report by Berita Harian.

Yesterday, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said his party was willing to work with the government to implement institutional reforms, particularly in amending the Constitution to enact an anti-party-hopping law.

Asked why a similar offer made by the Muhyiddin Yassin administration was rejected by DAP and its allies, Kamaruzaman said the opposition might have been confident of being able to form the government at the time.

“Only when they realised they had no majority did they want to take up the offer again. Anyway, an anti-party-hopping law needs to be managed properly, otherwise, it will lead to instability,” he said.

Kamaruzaman hoped that DAP’s initial support for the move would stop excessive politicking and open up space for more cross-party cooperation.

“All parties should give a chance to this government that has been proven to have the majority. When the country is free of the pandemic, a general election can then be held.

“This is also in line with the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for all parties to cooperate with the government, especially amid the Covid-19 outbreak which is still serious,” he said.

Meanwhile, Umno supreme council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman called on the government to be cautious of DAP’s support, saying it might be “a selective decision” aimed at benefiting only the party.