Hadi shoots down Dr M's 'hudud for all' demand

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has shot down former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad over his demand that hudud law cover everyone including non-Muslims.

He explained Mahathir’s assertion that different punishments for Muslims and non-Muslims would be seen as unfairness and are against the teachings of Islam.

“There is a distinction between fairness for all and rights for all.

“Non-Muslims have rights to do what is allowed in their own religion,” he told a press conference after the 58th national PAS muktamar in Kota Baru.

An example, Abdul Hadi said, was how hudud law governs alcohol.

“People who drink alcohol will be punished, that is hudud law.

“But it does not punish non-Muslims because it is allowed is their own religion,” he said.

Abdul Hadi also took a swipe at Mahathir (left), suggesting that the former premier confine his comments to the medical field.

He reiterated that the Islamic party had a right to lobby for hudud law but it will only do it through the democratic process.

Queried on whether the syura council’s decision that PAS has not veered off from its original struggle meant that its concept of ‘welfare state’ was the same with its previous agenda of an ‘Islamic state’, Abdul Hadi appeared to side-step the question.

“Islam is a religion that accept all that is good, not only from the Islamic civilisation but from the Arab world as well as the Chinese, Indian and Greek civilisations.

“Islamic civilisation also involves non-Muslims, including knowledge such as medicine, astronomy, science and technology,” he said.