DAP’s Anthony Loke denies supporting hudud but says Hudud should not be feared

(The Star) – Despite an openly circulated video, DAP MP Anthony Loke has denied supporting hudud.

The Seremban MP said his party had always opposed hudud, even while working with PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, adding that his remarks during a ceramah prior to GE13 had been misconstrued.

The remarks, made in 2013, were captured on video.

“In my speech during that ceramah, I had argued that ‘if you don’t steal or rob, then you should not fear hudud’.

Loke is now claiming that “don’t fear hudud ” is not tantamount to supporting hudud.

“I said ‘don’t fear hudud’, but that does not mean that we support hudud. I stressed during my speech that hudud was not part of the Pakatan Rakyat consensus and was not a consideration for GE13

“It was meant to counter the attempts by our political rivals who were using the hudud issue to scare the Chinese community into rejecting Pakatan Rakyat,” he told reporters in Parliament on Monday.

Loke was responding to Gerakan secretary-general Datuk Liang Teck Meng, who asked him to apologise for once supporting the implementation of hudud.

Liang, who is Simpang Renggam MP, on Sunday condemned Loke for trying to blame others for the four-year-old video going viral.

“It seems that DAP politicians – no matter how senior they are – do not have to take responsibility for their actions, can say whatever they like and it is always someone else’s fault,” he had said.

The government and PAS have repeatedly denied that the Private Member’s Bill brought by Marang MP Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will lead to the implementation of hudud in Malaysia.

The bill proposes amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, also known as Act 355, and seeks to increase the limits of punishments for syariah offences.