SO IT'S NOT ABOUT FAITH OR ISLAM! Hudud will seal Malay supremacy, keep non-Muslim DOWN

CYBERJAYA - Implementing hudud laws in will help seal the political position of ethnic Malays in the country, thwarting any challenge from non-Muslims, the leader of a hardline Muslim group claimed today.

Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) chief Zaid Abdul Rahman said that non-Muslims fear hudud because its implementation would automatically make Malaysia an Islamic state.

“This belief that non-Muslims reject hudud because they don’t understand it is not true. In fact, they know well the implication of power,” Zaid told a press conference after opening the Isma Women’s Convention here.

“The Islamic state would ensure power remains under Muslim control. The Islamic state would also preserve the sovereignty of the Malays in our own land… that is why we see non-Muslims reject hudud,” he added.

Since Malaysia’s general elections in 2013, the non-governmental organisation has been growing in popularity, striking a chord with more conservative Malay Muslims who support its push for Malaysia to become an Islamic state.

ISMA’s uncompromising views and bald statements have been criticised mainly by Malaysia’s non-Muslim minority and rights groups. Some have likened ISMA to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Isma chief urged Malay-Muslims to unite to create a powerful Islamic political force that would fight to make Malaysia an Islamic state and roll out hudud to preserve its political supremacy.

“But now the Malays are split and when we throw the idea of hudud, some Malays would criticise it while the non-Muslims laugh at us,” he said.

Opposition party PAS, last month announced its intention to table two Private Members Bills to Parliamentary support for its plan to implement hudud laws in Kelantan.

The move has met stiff opposition from its allies in Pakatan Rakyat.

Zaid said it was better for PAS to leave PR as it is “haram” (sinful) for the Islamist party to cooperate with a coalition that rejects hudud.

“They (PAS) should leave as it is haram to work with someone who rejects hudud.”

While rights groups argue that having parallel criminal laws would lead to complex jurisdictional issues and plunge Malaysia into a prolonged legal conundrum, some believe that having a dual criminal law system is workable as hudud is only applicable to Muslims.

Some Muslim leaders, however, have suggested that hudud should also apply on non-Muslims, a proposal Zaid supported.

“If people see one Muslim punished under hudud but a non-Muslim not punished (with hudud) people will laugh,” he said.

-Malaymail