Outcome of the Pakatan meeting on the Hudud Law

Pakatan Raktat today said that it will uphold the Federal Constitution in so far as the hudud law is concerned, implying that it will not seek the constitutional amendments required for the law to be implemented.

However, the coalition agreed to disagree on existing enactments pertaining to hudud law in Kelantan and Terengganu, as the enactments predate the formation of Pakatan.

Speaking after a three hour meeting which ended at midnight at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said this was to respect the divergent views of PAS and DAP on the thorny issue.

“Both enactments are already there as a references, but there is a need to refer to Pakatan Rakyat as it involves Federal Constitution amendment.

“It is not an issue. The (Kelantan) government is here, (state exco) Takiyuddin (Hassan) explained the Kelantan position and the requirement for (the state enactment's) enforcement is an amendment to the Federal Constition,” he said.

Asked specifically if Pakatan will be implementing the hudud law if it comes into power in the next election, Anwar said: “No, there is no consensus (on that).”

However, the veteran politician (left, in file picture) noted that Pakatan is not closing the door on hudud and is prepared to pursue the matter to respect PAS' democratic right to voice their position.

“We respect the people's right to present their case. We cannot deny PAS, DAP or PKR the right to (present their case)... but we are bound to the Federal Constitution and the Buku Jingga.

“There is nothing stopping us from discussing. I have difficulty in appreciating some of the concerns. Why can this not be discussed?” he asked when quizzed by reporters.

Of the 26 who attended the meeting, said to have been fairly heated, were DAP leaders Karpal Singh, Lim Kit Siang, Ngeh Koo Ham and Liew Chin Tong, PAS leaders Abdul Hadi Awang, Salahuddin Ayub and Nasruddin Hassan and PKR leaders Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, Azmin Ali and Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin.

Takiyuddin was representing the Kelantan government on the instruction of state menteri besar and PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

According to Anwar, Pakatan leaders including himself also contacted Nik Aziz, a staunch supporter of the hudud law, on the matter.

He added that the meeting was also briefed of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment 1993 and Terengganu Syariah Criminal Code 2003 by Takiyuddin and Abdul Hadi.

Pakatan leaders approached after the meeting were all tightlipped and refused to divulge information of what had happened in the lengthy late night meeting.

The hudud issue has been used by Pakatan's opponents to accuse the coalition of being a marriage of convenience rather than a formidable pact.

Often used as ammunition against Pakatan on the matter is the statement by Karpal that the Islamic laws will only be implemented comprehensively in Malaysia “over (his) dead body”.

“We stress that we will not be dragged into the desperate political ploy of Umno-BN to drive a wedge between us. We fully believe in the maturity and wisdom of the rakyat to judge this situation for themselves,” said Anwar.

[Source: Mkini]