No guarantee PAS won’t marginalise non-Malays, says Santiago

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has scoffed at PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that non-Malays have no reason to fear the party ahead of the Aug 12 state elections. Santiago said if PAS had not created fear among non-Malays, it would not need to come up with such statements in the first place.

(FMT) – “How do you explain compounding a Chinese woman for wearing shorts in public?” he said in a statement today, referring to an incident in June where a business owner was fined by the Kota Bharu Municipal Council for violating by-laws on “indecent clothing”.

He also said PAS enforced its ideas on “haram” onto non-Muslims, citing the lack of cinemas in Kelantan and gender-segregated ones in Terengganu.

Santiago said there are gender-segregation laws imposed on unisex hair salons in Terengganu, where violations result in fines of up to RM1,000. “Doesn’t this affect non-Malay businesses as well?”

Claiming that there has been a push from PAS to make political Islam mainstream, he asked if there was any guarantee the party would not impose Islamic values on everyone regardless of faith, “especially if it captures the federal government at the next polls”.

At a Perikatan Nasional ceramah in Penang on Tuesday night, Hadi said non-Malays would not be marginalised if PAS wins at the polls.

“Non-Malays, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry. Islam promotes justice and fairness. Malays are great people. In Kelantan (and) Terengganu, Chinese and Indians live happily in Malay villages,” he said.