Pas remains true to hudud agenda
Lower ranking leaders want hudud implemented
The support from Pas’ lower ranking leaders for Nik Aziz’s stand has been overwhelming — they want hudud to be implemented in the country. It was not a propaganda trick or anything of that sort when these leaders openly gave their statements to the press, extolling the virtues of hudud.
Shahrum Sayuthi, NST
PAS’ aspirations to set up an Islamic state and implement the hudud is not actually something outlandish or extraordinary for most of those who are old enough to remember the height of Pas’ extreme approach in Islamic politics during the mid-1980s.
Those were the days when it was quite common to hear of weird incidents such as Pas members performing separate prayers in mosques to avoid being in the same congregation as Umno members, and refusing to eat the meat of livestock slaughtered by fellow Muslims from the rival party.
It was an attitude that many believed was shaped by the infamous “Amanat Hadi”, which was an excerpt from a speech by the then firebrand young Pas leader, Abdul Hadi Awang, at Kampung Benggol, Peradong, Kuala Terengganu on April 7, 1981.
The “Amanat Hadi” translates as follows:
“Dear fellow Muslims, do believe,
“We are against Umno, not because its name is Umno. We are against Barisan Nasional not because it has been in power too long. We are against them because they have maintained the constitution of the colonists, maintained the laws of the infidels, maintained the regulations of the jahiliah (pre-Islamic civilisation). That is why we are against them. That is why we are facing them. That is why we are trying to fight them.
“Do believe my dear fellow Muslims,
“Our struggles are jihad, our speeches are jihad, our financial contributions are jihad. Be dependant on Allah in facing these groups because if we die while fighting them, our death will be syahid (martyrdom). Our death will be an Islamic death. We do not have to be Buddhists, we do not have to be Hindus, we do not have to be Christians, but we will be considered infidels if we practise the separation of politics and religion.”
It has been more than 30 years since the “edict” was proclaimed, and Hadi is now a “Datuk Seri” and president of the party, which many believed had transformed into a centre-right conservative entity, similar to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party.
Gone are the fiery speeches condemning Umno for its cooperation with non-Muslim allies such as MCA and MIC.
Pas had instead formed an alliance with the secular Chinese-based DAP as well as Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
It had also successfully created an impression that it had put its Islamic state agenda on the back-burner, so much so that some actually believed the party had abandoned the agenda.
A lay person could not be faulted for believing so, as even DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who is a constitutional law expert, believed the same when he went head to head with Pas Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi the past few weeks over the hudud issue.
Hudud refers to the class of punishments that are fixed for crimes which include theft, fornication and adultery, consumption of alcohol or other intoxicants, and apostasy.
Karpal had confidently claimed that Pas had truly abandoned that aspiration and demanded that Hadi or Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat confirm it. Nik Aziz’s response was firm and straight to the point — those aspirations are not just a political agenda of Pas but a religious obligation.
On this issue, the religious leaders of Pas do not seem to want to pussyfoot around it any more.
This is, after all, the month of Ramadan, and they probably do not want to be seen as being subservient to someone like Karpal, who is known to be a strong opponent of hudud.
The support from Pas’ lower ranking leaders for Nik Aziz’s stand has been overwhelming — they want hudud to be implemented in the country. It was not a propaganda trick or anything of that sort when these leaders openly gave their statements to the press, extolling the virtues of hudud.
For many who were not yet born or politically conscious during the years of “Amanat Hadi”, this may seem strange to them as the Pas they know is not insistent on such matters, especially among the young urbanites and the non-Muslims.
The truth is Pas has never changed its colours. It has just been more selective of what to say to which audience. All this is to ensure electoral victory.
A case in point was during the run-up to the Tenang by-election on Jan 10, last year. Hadi, along with Johor Pas commissioner Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed, were campaigning at Felda Chemplak Barat, not far from Labis.
Mahfodz, being the first speaker, told the almost exclusively Malay Muslim crowd that Pas would push for the setting up of an Islamic state once it came into power in Putrajaya. He said Pas would also insist on the implementation of hudud, which included amputation for convicted thieves and stoning to death for adulterers.
Hadi, in his speech after that, highlighted Pas’ alliance with non-Islamic parties, such as DAP, maintaining that it was cooperating with the party without sacrificing its struggles and principles.
He also elaborated on the punishment of limb amputation which he insisted was a deterrent against theft.
Hadi claimed that Islamic laws were better than other laws as the penalties would deter potential criminals from committing crime.
“In Saudi Arabia, where Islamic laws are implemented, there were only about 10 instances over a period of 20 years when convicted thieves had their hands amputated,” he said.
“This shows that Islamic laws deter people from stealing. We can compare that with, for instance, New York in the United States where there are thousands of cases of thefts, rapes and murders every hour.”
That speech was evidently for the consumption of a Muslim audience, who were “expected” to support such a “religious obligation”, failing which, they would risk the possibility of damnation.
Such speeches or proclamations have not been openly uttered to a general audience by Pas leaders for a very long time until the hudud issue came to the fore recently.
The softening of its Islamist image had over the years helped Pas win support from non-Muslim voters.
During the Tenang by-election, for instance, more than half of the votes garnered by Pas came from the Chinese community living in the Labis township.
Of course, Pas speakers never mentioned hudud or Islamic state when delivering their ceramah there.
The marriage of convenience between Pas and DAP is currently on the rocks following their squabbles over the hudud issue.
DAP has been trying hard to contain the issue with most of its top senior leaders keeping a tight lid on it.
Pas, on the other hand, being concerned with the continuing loss of support from its Malay Muslim base of late, has been on the offensive and its leaders are speaking openly about their desire for an Islamic state and hudud.
They know that those aspirations are still their best selling points among the Muslim audience and they cannot afford to lose them and risk being labelled a DAP lackey.
