Hudud will empty out PAS’s non-Muslim wing, says chief
By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — PAS risks losing the support of and triggering an exodus from its non-Muslim wing if the Islamist party does not yield on the hudud issue, says PAS Supporters Congress (PSC) chairman Hu Pang Chaw.
He said many members were unhappy about PAS’s plans to introduce hudud law in Kelantan and warned this could cause non-Muslims to desert the congress en masse, damaging the party’s chances at the polls.
“We have to admit in politics anything can happen,” Kelantan-born Hu told The Malaysian Insider.
The current flap began a fortnight ago when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dared PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat (pic) to enact the Islamic law in Kelantan. — file pic
“When you fall in love with somebody, by hook or by crook, you’ll get together. But when the love is gone, when the feeling is not there anymore, you go your way, I go mine.”
Hu said this was especially true of PAS’s Chinese supporters, who were prepared to abandon the party if they felt they were not getting returns on their “investment”.
“When they think this party … can no longer be considered the best party, they will walk away. PAS has to bear this in mind,” he said.
PAS should accept that Malaysia is a multiracial country and forgo its attempt to impose hudud on non-Muslims as this would backfire on the party, Hu added.
He said PAS should shed its “phobia” of non-Muslims and embrace this relatively new vote bloc instead of holding on to outmoded ways of thinking by championing purely Malay causes, he added.
“My sincere advice to PAS leaders is, if they really want to take over Putrajaya, they must get used to this way of life,” he said.
The PSC, formerly known as the PAS Supporters Club, was formed in 2004 to help build non-Muslim support for PAS, just a week before the party suffered a rout in the 11th general election.
It was elevated to a non-voting wing of PAS in May last year to help recruit non-Muslim party members, mainly in Kedah, Perak and Selangor.
The 20,000-strong PSC has been credited with bridging the gap between PAS and non-Muslims, and softening the Islamist party’s hardline image among the Chinese and Indians.
The current flap over hudud began two 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.
