(Ipoh, Friday): DAP reiterates its call to Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, PAS
Terengganu Mentri Besar, to withdraw the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment
Bill because it is clearly against the Federal Constitution, violates human
rights, discriminates against women and contrary to the 1999 Barisan Alternative
Common Manifesto “Towards A Just Malaysia”.
Nobody in PAS, whether at the national or state level,
disputes that Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment Bill violates the Federal
Constitution and the rule of law, especially its provisions of amputation of
limbs for theft, 80 lashes for a woman who reports but unable to prove that she had been raped, stoning to death
for adultery and death for
apostasy, contravening the constitutional limits of “3-5-6” restricting
state syariah laws from imposing
sentences exceeding three years’ jail, RM5,000 fine or six strokes of the
rotan.
At the Parti Keadilan Nasional public forum on “Syariah
laws – concept and implementation” at Shah Alam on Monday night, Hadi said
that the laws under hudud are commanded by Allah.
This is not the language of democracy but the language of theocracy.
This is why when the DAP was in the Barisan Alternative, we
wanted to thrash out with the PAS leadership the fundamental issues as to
whether the PAS’ concept of Islamic state is compatible with democracy,
power-sharing in a plural society, human rights, women rights, social tolerance,
development and modernity, and decided to pull out of Barisan Alternative when
we failed to resolve these irreconcilable differences.
When DAP was in the Barisan Alternative, there was a clear
understanding that any controversial proposal
or enactment by the PAS state governments in Kelantan and Terengganu
which affect the sensitivities of the different races and religions would be
referred to the BA Presidential Council for a
consensus to be reached first.
Has the Barisan Alternative Presidential Council given its
approval to the presentation of the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment Bill
although it violates the 1999 Barisan Alternative Common Manifesto “Towards A
Just Malaysia”?
In the 1999 Barisan Alternative Common Manifesto, all
component parties had made a commitment to uphold the fundamental principles of
the Malaysian Constitution, which is flouted
by the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment Bill.
This is why the BA Presidential Council and the other
parties in BA should explain whether and why they had agreed to the Terengganu
Syariah Criminal Enactment Bill.
I am surprised to read the Malaysiakini report yesterday
where the Parti Keadilan Nasional
supreme council member, Dr. Lee Boon Chye, as good as declared support for the
Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment Bill, except for “more dialogues between
PAS and various groups on the issue” on the ground that it is “very
difficult for Muslims to reject the Islamic state or hudud law”.
In his 18 years as UMNO leader, Anwar Ibrahim had never
declared support for the Kelantan Hudud
Bill. Why is Keadilan now
supporting the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment Bill?
(5/7/2002)