Fearing Pakatan split, PKR stays neutral on PAS hudud plan

(From left) DAP's Lim Guan Eng, PKR's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Mohamad Sabu of PAS at a meeting in August. The fragile Pakatan Rakyat coalition is facing its biggest challenge yet as PAS pursues its hudud agenda in Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 22, 2014.While DAP is crying foul over ally PAS's plan to go ahead with implementing hudud in Kelantan, PKR is taking a more cautious stand by requesting to see the draft of the proposed amendment to the state Islamic laws.

With talks gaining ground that the Islamist party's insistence to go ahead with the proposal would lead to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition break-up, PKR is treating this matter carefully.

The youngest party in the coalition wants to avoid "falling into a trap" set by its detractors who will be quick to accuse its leadership, of which the majority are Muslims, of being "un-Islamic".

The Malaysian Insider understands the PKR leadership had requested for a copy of the draft from PAS last week but the Islamist party has yet to respond despite Kelantan's special assembly meeting being just a week away.

PAS is the ruling state government for the improvished east coast state and had called for a special sitting on December 29 to amend its Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II as part of the move to pave the way for a private member's bill in Parliament to enable the state to enforce hudud.

It is no secret that there are conservative elements within PAS that are not in favour of the party being in PR, who felt that the Islamist party did not benefit much from its partnership in the pact and had called for the "tahaluf siyasi" or political cooperation to be reviewed.

"They are waiting to prove to people that PKR does not want hudud. So, if PKR responds immediately like DAP, then these elements in PAS will take advantage and say PKR is completely shutting the door on its partner even without giving them a chance to look at the draft.

"That might also prove to be an impetus for it to leave the pact," a senior Pakatan leader told The Malaysian Insider on the condition of anonymity.

Muslims, pointed out the leader, cannot reject hudud as it is part of Islamic law but cautioned that there are many considerations that needed to be considered, including its role and priority in today's multi-racial society, before it can be enforced.

Secular DAP had repeatedly demanded that PAS shelve its plans in Kelantan, noting that the controversial Islamic criminal law was not part of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat pact's common policy framework.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had admitted that the PAS-led Kelantan government's plans to table an amendment on hudud in its state assembly was problematic, as it had no powers to enforce the Islamic criminal law in the state.

"There will be many problems because you have to amend Federal laws?. You don't have the power to enforce (hudud).

"Let's say they do it anyway. Who will make the arrests? Who will bring them (the suspects) to prison?

"It's not within their (the state government's) powers. So there's a lot of problems," he had said.

PAS's attempt to push for hudud is not new. Previous attempts by the party to table similar bills have been blocked by the BN-dominated Parliament and have never been voted on.

But in recent times, Umno has openly expressed support for PAS’s latest bid, with the main obstacles being the Islamist party's own allies.

In April, PAS had announced plans to introduce two private members’ bills in Parliament to allow it to enforce hudud in Kelantan.

But in doing so, it again resurrected the on-and-off conflict between DAP and PAS that dates back to the 1990s and which had kept the two from cooperating for decades.

However in May, following protests and severe criticism, PAS decided it would postpone the tabling of the bill to allow sufficient time for a joint Putrajaya and Kelantan government technical committee to study the implementation of the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II.

This time around, PAS's attempt to push for hudud had prompted Barisan Nasional party Gerakan to urge PKR and DAP's 18 Muslim MPs to vote against the private members' bill if it comes to Parliament.

Of the total 37 parliamentary seats held by DAP, two of its federal representatives are Muslims, namely Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari and Raub's Datuk Ariff Sabri, while 16 out of 29 PKR MPs are Muslims.

However, Gerakan's call had been rebuffed by both PKR and DAP.

- TMI