DAP won’t back down on hudud, says Karpal
The DAP chairman maintains the party will continue to oppose the implementation of Islamic laws in the country.
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP chairman Karpal Singh said the party will continue to oppose any attempts at implementing hudud in the country.
“From the very beginning, DAP has also made known its opposition against any attempts by PAS and others to turn the country into an Islamic state,” he said.
“Let me make it very clear: hudud is not in line with the Federal Cosntitution and therefore it is unconstitutional,” Karpal told FMT when commenting on the outcome of last night’s meeting of Pakatan Rakyat’s top brass to discuss the hudud issue.
He said eventhough PAS leaders were adamant (about implementing Islamic laws), DAP was equally firm in its opposition.
“You can’t have Islamic laws in a secular state; it’s as simple as that,” said Karpal, who was also at the meeting at the PAS headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut here.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court led by the then Lord President Mohamed Salleh Abas had declared that the country was a secular state in a landmark decision on a case in 1988.
He reiterated that there will be “no change” in his party’s stand on the matter, adding that he had conveyed this decision to PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim.
When asked to describe the atmosphere at last night’s meeting, Karpal said it was “very cordial”.
On calls by several MCA and Gerakan leaders to DAP to make its stand clear over the (hudud) issue, Karpal hit out at both parties, calling them “hypocrites”.
“Where were they when Mahathir (former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad) declared that Malaysia was an Islamic state?”
“There was not even a whimper of protest from any of the Barisan National (BN) component parties,” he said.
Asked whether he was concerned that the hudud issue will adversely affect relationship among the Pakatan allies, Karpal said that it was normal to have differences.
“But we still share a common stand on several key issues like human rights and corruption.”
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