Hadi: No need to rush anti-hopping law

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the proposed law to discourage MPs from defecting must be scrutinised properly and not rushed.

“(The bill) must be scrutinised. We cannot rush in this matter. There are reasons for such laws. If the reason is for good, we cannot object.

“It comes down to details... If the party is wrong, (you can’t expect an MP) to continue to be with the party, even if it is PAS.

“If PAS changes its policies, PAS supporters will leave. We need to discuss the details. We can’t simply enact laws,” he said, according to Harakah today.

Hadi was speaking to reporters in Marang, Terengganu.

While BN and Pakatan Harapan have thrown their full support for whatever form of laws to discourage defections by MPs to be tabled soon, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition - of which PAS is a member - has been coy on its position.

Meanwhile, Hadi said PAS has its own way of dealing with defections - the bai'ah oath.

He said PAS has faced defections before since 1959 and the bai'ah oath has helped ensure loyalty to the party.

“Any elected lawmaker that switches parties will have to resign. If not, they will be cursed by Allah and everyone else.

“That is in the bai'ah. We have made our oath and we are bound by it. We have handled (defections) for a long time,” he said.

Last month, Kuala Nerus MP Khairuddin Aman Razali left PAS but did not step down as an MP. Instead, he said he will donate all his earnings as an MP to PAS, which was another requirement under the bai'ah oath.

Putrajaya was initially supposed to table a bill to address defections by elected lawmakers on March 21. However, Putrajaya then postponed it to April 11.

On April 6, the cabinet decided to again postpone the bill and instead to only table a separate constitutional amendment bill on April 11 to insert an “enabling clause” for a separate bill that will address defections.

The legislation is a key component of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's confidence-and-supply agreement with Harapan. - Mkini