 KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The DAP has not budged from its stand on hudud, Lim Guan Eng said today in a reminder to allies PAS and PKR that without his party’s consent, the controversial Islamic law would never be a part of Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) consensus. The DAP secretary-general pointed out that under PR, a collective agreement from all three member parties must be obtained before any policy matter is adopted as part of the pact’s common policy platform. “PR’s position has not changed because DAP’s position in opposing the implementation of the hudud has not changed. “As DAP does not support the implementation of the hudud, the issue of PR supporting the hudud does not arise,” he said in a statement here. Lim was responding to a report by an online news portal quoting PR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as saying that Kelantan’s plan to implement hudud must first be understood thoroughly. “We must understand what the hudud law is about first before Pakatan Rakyat coalition parties support the Kelantan government’s plans. “Several issues must be discussed first, including basic Islamic matters, such as deviant teachings and anti-Hadith before hudud is taken to the next stage,” the Opposition Leader was quoted as saying at a gathering last night. Lim said he queried Anwar on his remarks but the latter “reaffirmed” that hudud is not a part of PR’s common policy platform, which was agreed on during the 2008 and 2013 general elections. The DAP leader said all component parties within PR can adhere to their respective objectives within the framework but focus and priority must be given to the pact’s common policies. These policies, he said, include “fighting corruption, pursuing good governance, establishing rule of law and justice, and ensuring that economic prosperity can be shared equitably with the rakyat and not enjoyed only by the cronies.” Earlier this month, Anwar had defended PAS’s decision to push for the implementation of hudud in Kelantan, saying it is the Islamist party’s democratic right to pursue its party agenda. The PKR de facto chief pointed out, however, that the move, which involves the tabling of two private members bills in Parliament, would require majority support from the House before it is passed. Anwar also pointed out that it had always been a PAS objective to implement hudud, noting that it had been the party that pushed through the Kelantan 1993 enactment more than a decade before it joined PR. “You have to remember that Kelantan’s Shariah Criminal Enactment was drafted in 1993, before Pakatan was formed so it is an exception... we have to give them a fair hearing because it is not a national programme,” Anwar told a press conference on April 16. On March 3, Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob was reported as saying that PAS was planning to propose a Private Members’ Bill in Parliament, with hopes that it would allow the state to finally enforce hudud laws as early as next January. In 1993, the PAS state government passed the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II, but the strict Islamic penal code has not been enforced. Secularist DAP, who are PAS allies in PR, have strongly opposed to the implementation of hudud. DAP leaders have openly recorded their objection to PAS’s plans, with several MPs saying the Islamist party can expect to face heavy resistance from its political allies when the bills are tabled in Parliament. The DAP is the second-largest party in the Dewan Rakyat with 38 MPs. In Islamic jurisprudence, hudud covers crimes such as theft, robbery, adultery, rape and sodomy. Punishments for the crimes are severe, including amputation, flogging and death by stoning. MMail
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