DAP's Lim Kit Siang (pic) wants Pakatan Rakyat leaders to stop issuing statements over its ally PAS's intention to implement Hudud law in Kelantan.
"In these circumstances, I would call for an immediate moratorium on statements by Pakatan Rakyat leaders on the latest hudud controversy and to refer the issue to the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council for decision," Lim said in a statement today.
The hudud issue recently flared up again when PAS had announced plans this month to introduce two private members’ bills in Parliament to allow it to enforce hudud in Kelantan.
This triggered a public war of words between Deputy Menteri Besar of Kelantan, Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah and DAP's national organising secretary Anthony Loke.
Nik Amar had told off its coalition partners saying that they have "no right to interfere" in the Islamist party plan to implement hudud in the east coast state, causing Loke to tell PAS to leave Pakatan if it is adamant to go ahead with its plan.
In ticking off both Nik Amar and Loke, Lim, who is also DAP parliamentary leader, said both leaders should be more restrained since many in Umno and Barisan Nasional are looking to "fish in troubled waters", creating a situation akin to the Chinese saying "friends to grieve and enemies to rejoice".
"Let all Pakatan Rakyat leaders, whether DAP, PAS or PKR, continue to be guided by Pakatan's common policy framework and consensus so as to give hope to Malaysians for the long-needed changes in the political landscape in the country if Malaysia is to become a united, democratic, competitive and prosperous nation which holds itself out as beacon of light of a successful multi-racial and multi-religious nation to the rest the world," he added.
The veteran leader's comments came after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng earlier today denied a claim made by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang that the Islamist party's plan to implement hudud in Kelantan had been endorsed by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council.
Guan Eng said DAP leaders would never have endorsed such a plan and urged Hadi to prove his claim if the report quoting him was true.
"If Hadi was correctly quoted, then he is wrong and should show proof to back his claim because DAP had never agreed to the implementation of hudud by PAS on Muslims in Kelantan before or after PR was established in 2008."
He added that DAP had always been adamant against the implementation of hudud in Malaysia, with its late chairman Karpal Singh arguing that it is against the Federal Constitution and national interest.
Guan Eng warned PAS against turning to Umno for support, saying Umno leaders, including Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had clearly stated their opposition to the introduction of hudud.
"Clearly, in failing to secure PR support for implementing hudud, PAS is now turning to Umno.
"Despite Umno’s opposition to hudud from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2011, PAS is willing to trust that Umno is not playing politics to recapture Kelantan," said the Penang chief minister.
Many say Umno's Muslim MPs were expected to support PAS's bill, with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Kelantan Umno chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa coming out to declare they would support the bill.
Umno has 88 MPs while PAS has 21 MPs in the Parliament. Their combination would mean that the bill is still short of 39 votes to be passed with a two-thirds majority.
Guan Eng urged PAS to "make a realistic assessment" on whether Umno's support for PAS's move was a political strategy to undermine and subvert the Islamist party in its bid to recapture Kelantan.
"Hadi should not forget that he was the Terengganu menteri besar who passed the Hudud law in Terengganu in 2003 and immediately thereafter lost Terengganu in the 2004 general election to Umno.
"By attempting to work with Umno again on trying to implement hudud for Muslims in Kelantan, will history repeat itself and allow Umno to recapture Kelantan?" – April 27, 2014.
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