Young lawyer in bid to beat down Sabah hudud bogey

Forty-eight hours to nomination day and PAS is already on the defensive.

Like in Peninsular Malaysia, PAS, which is fielding 11 candidates in Sabah - the most in its history - is faced with accusations of religious extremism. At the centre of it is the question of the hudud.

Its critics' target group is the non-Muslims, but more specifically, the Chinese who dwell in urban centres like Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau.

Fielded to face this onslaught in PAS' only Sabah urban state seat is 37-year-old Hamid Ismail, who will be slugging it out in Muslim-majorityTanjong Aru.

Located about a 10-minutes drive from downtown Kota Kinabalu, about a third of Tanjong Aru voters are Chinese and 12 percent are non-Muslim bumiputera.

At his debut press conference as an electoral candidate, Hamid (right), clean-cut in a white shirt and slacks, does not fit the stereotype picture of a religious fanatic.

And when he starts to speaks, the father of three soon enough fills the mould as the party's poster boy for religious tolerance.

Conversions from Islam

Hamid, a lawyer working in both the civil and syariah system, has over the years fought several cases involving the testy issue of conversion from Islam.

"I fought a case where a woman was born a Muslim to parents who had converted to Islam. But her parents raised her as Buddhist, and she wanted to be recognised as one.

"The case was dismissed. If you convert from Islam you cannot go back, but every case should be based on its own facts. That's why I defended the case.

"I don't support apostasy among Muslims, but I believe that some cases have their justifications," said Hamid, who is better known for litigating high-profile criminal cases.

Although only a PAS member for about a year, Hamid has been the face for PAS in Kota Kinabalu when it comes to engagement on the thorny issue of hudud.

In January, he spoke alongside fellow opposition representative SAPP president Yong Teck Lee (left) at a forum organised by an MCA-linked NGO.

Hamid, who started his own firm in 2004, said he made it clear that he was speaking as a syariah lawyer, and not as a PAS member, but Yong was taking none of that.

On Monday, Yong blew up a picture of Hamid and himself on a big screen and accused the latter and PAS of double-speak.

The SAPP man said that PAS is telling the Chinese that it is difficult for hudud to be implemented.

"But at the forum, he said that two-thirds majority in Parliament is not required to bring in the hudud as it only requires amendment to the Penal Code, and not the federal constitution.

"He tells the Chinese different things, and the Muslims different things," Yong said.

Religious credentials

On the BN side, PAS is facing a similar attack. Chinese dailies in Sabah have carried advertising from the BN essentially saying vote for PAS and kiss your current lifestyle goodbye.

"They're making it out that PAS is here to convert everyone, but there is no compulsion in Islam. We cannot forcefully convert anyone so that hudud apply to all," said Hamid.

"The thing is, different aspects of the syariah are already in place in Sabah and we already see that it does not affect non-Muslims."

It will be an uphill task for Hamid to get this message out to the voters, who will have to decide whether to send this fresh face to the state assembly or keep double-term PBS man Edward Yong in the spot.

In 2008, Yong won in a three-corner fight, gaining a slim 662 votes above the PKR and DAP candidates' votes combined.

Religious tolerance notwithstanding, Hamid's campaign team believes that his Islamic credentials are an ace up his sleeve that will place him on top.

The grand-nephew of the first imam of Sabah's state mosque, Hamid comes from a family of religious leaders who lead of many Muslim organisations in the state.

His grand-uncle, the late Imam Pandin, was imam in the mosque when it was located in Kampung Sembulan, where Hamid himself was born.

It is unclear if this is enough to see the Muslims, which comprise close to 60 percent of Tanjong Aru, vote en bloc for the PAS candidate, but if they do, the Islamic party could see its first ever Sabah state assemblyperson.