A PAS leader hopes an anti-hopping law will be enacted "as soon as possible" to prevent elected representatives from deserting their parties.

"Although the law is silent on he matter, it is a form of cheating and a betrayal of the voters.

“I suggest such laws be included as clauses for resignation, and which will prevent a member from participating in a future election,” PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.

He was confident the whole of PAS' leadership would give full support to whoever tables such a bill in the upcoming parliamentary session.

"The sooner the better, and it would be even better if it has retrospective effect,” he was reported as saying in Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia.

However, Takiyuddin, who is Kota Bharu MP, said it should ensure that such a law would not impinge on article 10(1)(c) of the federal constitution related to freedom of association.

The May 9 general election, which saw a humiliating defeat for BN in which it lost federal power for the first time in history, subsequently saw BN losing two more MPs.

This was when Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal and Bagan Serai MP Noor Azmi Ghazali quit Umno.

This reduced Umno's seats in the Dewan to 52.

The idea of an anti-hoping law was first suggested by the late DAP chairperson Karpal Singh in 2010, after three Pakatan Harapan Perak state assemblypersons quit the coalition to help BN wrest the state government from the hands of the PKR-DAP-PAS coalition.