DAP-PAS ‘agree to disagree’ over hudud

DAP-PAS ‘agree to disagree’ over hudud

By Clara Chooi

October 12, 2011
Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — PAS and DAP have “agreed to disagree” over the controversial hudud law, ending a longstanding squabble that placed both parties on a collision course for months.

In a statement today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the decision was reached following a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leadership meeting held at his party’s headquarters here on Monday.

Lim said during the meeting, PR leaders had reaffirmed the pact’s 2009 common policy framework, its Buku Jingga pledges and joint statement issued on September 28 where hudud was never mentioned as a common agenda.

Lim said today PR leaders had reaffirmed the pact’s 2009 common policy framework, its Buku Jingga pledges and joint statement issued on September 28 where hudud was never mentioned as a common agenda. — file pic

“The meeting concluded with both DAP and PAS agreeing to disagree on the hudud law,” he said.

He added the policy would not be part of PR’s agenda during or after the coming general election or implemented by any PR-led government without prior consensus from all the pact’s three parties.

Lim had previously threatened that the entire DAP central committee would resign if the hudud law was forced into PR’s Buku Jingga without agreement from all parties.

“As the hudud law is not mentioned in the PR Common Policy Framework or in Buku Jingga, it is therefore not PR policy.

“Only policies mentioned in the Common Policy Framework, Buku Jingga or agreed to by all three parties will be implemented in a PR government,” he said.

The Penang chief minister said PR leaders had also discussed the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment 1993 during the meeting, following which DAP stressed the party’s stand in disagreeing with hudud law as it was not in line with the Federal Constitution.

The leaders present at the meeting were Lim, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, several Kelantan state executive councillors, PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and Perak PKR chairman Dr Mohd Nur Manuty.

The current flap over hudud began several weeks ago when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dared Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat to enact the Islamic law in Kelantan now that the Umno veteran was no longer in power.

Dr Mahathir had written to the Kelantan mentri besar in 1993 to inform him that the state did not have the right to introduce hudud, which prescribes stoning, whipping and amputation as punishment for criminal offences.

Nik Aziz, who is also PAS spiritual leader, however, dismissed the suggestion as laughable and instead challenged Prime Minister Datuk Najib Razak to withdraw any objections Putrajaya still had over Kelantan’s plans to implement hudud.

PAS has drawn flak from friend and foe alike over plans to enact hudud in Kelantan.

PAS, which has issued an assurance that any introduction of hudud will be done slowly and in phases, recently kicked off a series of talks in Kelantan to explain the controversial Islamic law to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.