PETALING JAYA: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today said that there was no agreement within Pakatan Rakyat on the hudud issue, pointing out that DAP’s objection to it meant that there was no consensus among the three parties.
“Under Pakatan, there must be consensus by all three parties on policy matters. As DAP does not support the implementation of the hudud, the issue of Pakatan supporting the hudud does not arise,” he said in a statement.
“Pakatan’s position has not changed because DAP’s position in opposing the implementation of the hudud has not changed,” he added.
He further said that Pakatan’s common policy platform as well as the 2008 and 2013 general election manifesto do not include the implementation of the hudud or the establishment of the Islamic state.
This has been agreed to by all the component parties of PAS, PKR and DAP in Pakatan Rakyat, he stressed.
Lim said that the three parties were allowed to adhere to their respective objectives within the democratic framework.
“However focus and priority should be on Pakatan’s common policies that have been agreed to by all three parties such as fighting corruption, pursuing good governance establishing rule of law and justice, ensuring that economic prosperity can be shared equitably with the rakyat and not enjoyed only by the cronies,” he said.
The Penang Chief Minister also said that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had affirmed Pakatan’s stand on the hudud issue when the latter asked him about it.
Anwar was previously reported as saying that Pakatan parties must first understand what the hudud law is about before supporting the Kelantan government’s plans.
The hudud issue has become a hot topic following an announcement by Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yaakob that the state government would table a private member’s bill through a PAS MP in parliament in June to implement hudud in the state.
While several Umno leader had said that they would welcome the bill, DAP and the non-Muslim parties in BN had rejected the idea, stating that Malaysia was a secular country and Islamic laws would cause constitutional crisis in the country.
PKR has yet to make an official stand on the matter but some of it leaders had blamed Umno for stirring up the issue to gain political mileage.
DAP leader Karpal Singh, who died in an accident last week, was a firm opponent of hudud, constantly putting PAS in its place by saying that hudud had no place in Malaysia.
