Let the dogs and wolves bark, says Hadi in vowing to push on with hudud
(The Malaysian Insider) – Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said PAS would not be swayed from its agenda and that the “enemies” are picking out aspects of the religion, such as hudud, to strike fear among the people.
The party president said a picture was being painted as if hudud was the first order of business should the Islamist party form the federal government, whereas it is only a part of Islamic laws covering many areas, including international and civil laws.
“In hudud, there is the punishment of cutting off a thief’s hand, and the penalty for adultery. These are what they have picked out… picked out by the media and various others to make people fear Islam,” he said during a Ramadan ceramah attended by hundreds of supporters at the Penang PAS headquarters in Pongsu Seribu, Kepala Batas, Penang.
Hadi said about 5 years ago, the late Singaporean senior minister Lee Kuan Yew had wanted to know more about PAS, and the Singapore embassy in Kuala Lumpur contacted his political secretary to set up a meeting.
“I was shocked Lee Kuan Yew wanted to meet me. That is why I think DAP is small. DAP is born out of PAP, Lee’s party,” he said, drawing some laughter from the crowd.
Hadi said Lee soon came to Malaysia on a working visit and after meeting Barisan Nasional (BN) government leaders and the late PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat in Kelantan, they both met at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Hadi said Lee who was accompanied by several ministers asked him many questions about PAS’s Islamic agenda and its foreign policy should it form the federal government.
“I said our policies will be according to Islam and peace would be on top of the list. Peace is the priority in international relations.
“Islam has its way of solving issues and uniting people of different backgrounds through the justice and mercy it brings,” he said.
When hudud was made a hot issue, Hadi said he was invited to speak at Singapore’s Nanyang University on the matter.
He said he told the mostly non-Muslim academics that they cannot define Islam as a religion based on Western terms.
“Islam is the teaching of Allah that covered the creation of man, the relationships between people, life and the hereafter. It covers everything.
“But when it comes to hudud, all they thought about was cutting off hands.”
Hadi said he explained how the Islamic justice system worked, how it dictated the way judges made their decisions based on the arguments presented to them.
“Judges and witnesses must be fair. If there is doubt in one argument, hudud cannot be executed. Even the witnesses can face hudud if they are found to be unfair.
“Hudud is not about punishments. It is about protecting the victims, making criminals fear the law and repent,” he said, adding that whipping in Islam did not break the flesh like whipping that is carried out now.
Hadi said his non-Muslim audience understood and did not have much to ask, but the ones making noise were those who did not attend the talk.
“What is most hurtful are those writing in the social media, who never studied Islam but acted like they did.
“Hudud is not by PAS or the prophet. It is God’s law. They make fun of God’s law,” he said, adding that the detractors would know their faults after their death.
Hadi said PAS’s approach was to engage in dialogue with everyone, including DAP, that the Islamist party was butting heads with over the hudud issue, PKR and political rival Umno.
“Nobody can prevent us from engaging Umno in a dialogue. It is especially with Muslims that we want to have dialogues with.”
He said the focus now was to amend the Shariah Courts Act to allow certain hudud laws to be implemented.
It requires simple majority to amend the Act, said Hadi, adding that Muslims must support the amendment regardless of their party affiliation.
“This is a test for Muslims who are in politics whether they realise or not.
“We want to do this peacefully but unfortunately there are people who want to start a fight.
“Let the dogs and wolves bark at the ‘kabilah’. We will push on with our agenda until we achieve our goal,” he said.
