PAS Firm On Hudud Law
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 13:31 | 
PAS will stick to its agenda to implement hudud law and set up an Islamic state in Malaysia despite objections by its Pakatan Rakyat ally, the DAP.
“We will not compromise on the matter,” said PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, reiterating the stand taken by the party’s mursyidul am (spiritual advisor) Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat.
Nik Aziz, who is Kelantan mentri besar, had reportedly called on leaders of Pakatan - which also includes the PKR - to implement hudud law if the tripartite alliance succeeded in forming the Federal government.
The call drew a lot of flak from the DAP, with party stalwarts Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh fiercely defending the view that Malaysia is a secular state and that any policy changes in the Pakatan can only be made with the mutual agreement of all its component parties.
Reacting to the DAP’s rage over the issue, Mustafa said PAS was also firm on its principle.
Supporting his party elders, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi said the DAP should not immediately object to the idea without understanding the principles behind hudud law.
“Existing man-made laws have failed. It is high time the DAP leaders open their eyes to the hudud, qisas and ta’zir enactments that could help overcome social woes,” added Nasrudin, stressing that Islam emphasises fairness.
“Karpal Singh supports civil laws that allow women to be hanged for dumping babies that lead to death.
“Mothers who kill their own children would not even be tried under the hudud law. They will be subjected to the ta’zir laws where the judge would use his discretion in meting out punishment,” said Nasrudin.
He added that any man who dumps and kills a baby would be liable to the death sentence under the qisas laws - where “an eye for an eye” sort of punishment is applied.
Commenting on the PAS-DAP impasse over the hudud issue, MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the two parties had been collaborating as a team and it was strange to hear that, at the same time, the DAP disagrees with PAS.
Dr Wee said Lim also owes the public an explanation over the DAP’s stand.
“Are they (the DAP) playing around with tricks just to get both the Malay and Chinese votes?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Karpal Singh has refuted Nik Aziz’s allegation that he was alone in his stand against hudud law and Islamic state proposed by PAS.
Karpal Singh said Lim had stated their stand that Malaysia was a secular state, and the introduction of hudud law and the setting up of an Islamic state was not Pakatan Rakyat’s policies.
“This statement nails the assertion by Nik Aziz that I was the lone voice in the DAP opposing hudud and Islamic state,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile PAS officials were not dissuaded by DAP's assertion that hudud and the Islamic state are not Pakatan Rakyat policies.
PAS vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man called for dialogue among Pakatan Rakyat components.
He said once non-Muslims have an understanding of syariah, they would "fall in love with it".
"The syariah is applicable only to Muslims as it is a religious obligation to comply with the teachings of Islam," he said, adding that exaggerations and false depictions have clouded the perspective of the non-Muslims here.
"They will learn to embrace it if they were enlightened to its essence," he said.
"I feel that the current laws have failed to protect society based on the increasing number of crimes, including baby dumping, drug abuse and other social ills."
He said every party, including the Barisan Nasional, should participate in discussions to find ways to tackle these issues.
However, he said, having such discussions should not be seen as an attempt to align itself with BN.
"Social economic issues are something we should not politicise for the people's sake."
Shah Alam member of parliament Khalid Samad said the onus was on PAS to convince society.
"Society must agree before we make any changes," he said.
PAS Information chief Idris Ahmad said he would rather have PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz make statements on the matter to avoid further confusion.
"It is crucial that each component party is considerate to their respective positions regarding the matter."
Meanwhile, Karpal said PAS should accept that its avowed aim in turning Malaysia into an Islamic state was an "exercise in futility and beyond fulfilment".
However, he said, DAP was prepared to work with PAS in the interest of the people.
"This is an expectation of the people and nothing should be done to defeat their expectations."
Dzulkefly (left) warned that if the public spat goes on unabated, it would result in a second occurrence of an opposition coalition going into 'self-destruct mode', which was last seen in 2001 when DAP left the Barisan Alternatif coalition. He said that Pakatan should be guided by its common policy framework (CPF) drawn up in December. "Pakatan must understand what is necessary in coalition politics, which is about parties undertaking common objectives and policies," said Dzulkefly, who is also a Pakatan leadership secretariat member, when contacted. 'In Pakatan, we have more than enough common ground to form a broad-based policy." In 2001, DAP left Barisan Alternatif in a huff after PAS maintained its stand that it would create a theocratic state based on strict Islamic law and hudud, which prescribed harsh penalties such as amputation for theft and stoning to death for adultery. Dzulkefly said Pakatan leaders must learn from history and avoid another fall-out between opposition parties. He said Pakatan allies PAS, DAP and PKR need to focus on the CPF and their goals for the next general election, as well as respect each other's respective ideologies. However, the Pakatan platform should not be used to promote party positions that are not part of the CPF. 
"For the 13th general election, this agenda is not immediately relevant because we are not fighting elections by ourselves. As long as BN always exploits this dichotomy, it becomes the Achilles heel of PR. "As long as hudud and an Islamic state are anathema to DAP while PAS opposes a secular state, and they quarrel over it forever until doomsday, BN and Umno will govern this country and we can forget about taking over the federal government." DAP chairperson Karpal Singh (right) and adviser Lim Kit Siang have again been locked in a 