KUALA TERENGGANU: PAS has again snubbed its Pakatan Rakyat allies by saying it is bent on going ahead with its plan to enforce hudud law in Kelantan.
Party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said implementing Islamic laws, including hudud, had been its goal since PAS was formed.
“Our views on such laws, including hudud, have always been consistent.
“It is the focal point of our struggle. It is surprising why some people are still shocked by it,” he told a press conference at a PAS gathering in Pantai Pandak near here yesterday.
PAS’ insistence on going ahead with the hudud laws in Kelantan had drawn heavy fire from its friends in the Pakatan alliance.
At the height of their dispute last month, Pakatan leaders had agreed on a gag order on the issue.
But after a lengthy meeting on Sept 28, it reached a stalemate on the matter and came out from the meeting to say further discussions on hudud law would have to be in line with the Opposition bloc’s common ideology and policies.
PAS representatives from Kelantan, including Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Mat said they would continue to press for hudud law in the state despite the objections from its Pakatan coalition partners.
Abdul Hadi said critics had the right to voice their views but not to block PAS’ intention to implement hudud.
He said the Pakatan mechanism worked in a way that allowed each component party to have different policies while working together through various approaches.
Abdul Hadi accused the mainstream media of highlighting the hudud issue only when a general election was near, although the Kelantan Government held frequent seminars on Islamic laws every year.
“It is not a political ploy as we have never deferred from our goal of implementing hudud,” he said, adding that it was a law from the Quran and not something written by PAS or any ulama.
On the attack on the party by PAS Supporters Congress chairman Hu Pang Chaw, Hadi said Hu was not one of the party’s policymakers.
Hu had repeatedly said he objected to hudud laws.
His criticism of hudud, seen as rebellious remarks against PAS leadership, has drawn flak from Kelantan PAS Youth chief Abdul Latif Abdul Rahman, who said Hu should not raise the matter to the media.
On the Federal Government’s plan to introduce the Apostasy Act, Abdul Hadi said having Islamic or syariah laws which included hudud would be sufficient. – The Star Online
