Amid kerfuffle over PAS’s hudud plans, PKR maintains law not Pakatan policy
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, Malay Mail Online
Hudud law is not and has never been a policy agreed on within the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) framework, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali insisted today, amid the ongoing squabble within the federal opposition pact over PAS’s renewed plans to table the controversial Islamic law.
The PKR deputy president stressed that although the PR leadership “respects” the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II passed by the Kelantan state assembly in 1993, any policy decision would have to be agreed upon by all three PR parties and not just “individuals.”
“Hudud is not Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) common policy. There has never been a discussion in the PR presidential council,” he told reporters when met after a function at the Holiday Villa Subang here.
The Selangor mentri besar also said the PR leadership respects DAP’s opposition to hudud, adding that any discussion on planned policies must be brought to the presidential council to be deliberated.
“In the times of economic uncertainty, Pakatan Rakyat will focus on issues of maqasid shariah – the higher objectives of shariah such as economic and social issues which are big issues in Islamic jurisprudence,” Azmin added.
He admitted that he chaired a PKR political bureau meeting last Sunday and that hudud was among the issues raised during the meeting.
“We are monitoring the developments we feel that if there is any new proposals it has to be brought back to PR’s original agreement,” he said, adding that the PR presidential council will meet next month and the hudud issue will be raised then.
