PAS on collision course with allies
(The Star) – The hudud issue has set PAS on a collision course with its allies in Pakatan Rakyat, with the Kelantan government saying that nothing is going to stop it from enforcing the Islamic criminal law by early next year.
“As far as PAS is concerned, we have not violated any agreement with our allies. We have the right to implement the Islamic laws as the laws of the land in Kelantan,” said state hudud technical committee chairman Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah.
“It is also the right of our allies, PKR and DAP, to disagree but make or break, we will implement the laws by next year.”
Mohd Amar, who is Deputy Mentri Besar, told reporters this after the state executive council meeting here yesterday.
On Tuesday, a high-level meeting among Pakatan leaders in Kuala Lumpur failed to resolve the impasse over Kelantan’s push for hudud in the PAS-controlled state.
The hudud storm has shaken Pakatan like no other issue and it is understood PAS leaders are quite concerned over some of the statements coming from DAP leaders.
Mohd Amar said the Mentri Besar would meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to give him the necessary information on the two Private Member’s Bills that will pave the way for the Islamic laws before they were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next month.
Mohd Amar is also due to meet Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom in a few days’ time.
He said the state government was ready to set up a special court and syariah appellate courts, saying it had the list of judges who would be appointed to manage the courts.
Mohd Amar said they would be appointed by the Sultan once the Bills were passed in Parliament.
Regarding reports that quoted him as saying that surgeons would amputate the hand of convicted people, he said his remarks had been misconstrued.
“I want to clarify that based on the views of the ulamas, surgeons could play a role in amputating limbs (of criminals) to limit the pain and to make sure the person does not suffer massive loss of blood, and so on.
“It is at the discretion of the judge meting out the sentence on how the punishment would be carried out,” added Mohd Amar.
In Kuala Lumpur, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said Tuesday’s meeting was a no-holds-barred discussion where everybody spoke their mind.
“We have our stand and they have their stand. But we agreed we must try to hold together as a coalition,” he said.
He said the views expressed at the meeting would be submitted to the Pakatan presidential council that was due to meet next week.
