PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said that BN components MCA And MIC appear to have a better understanding of his Private Member's Bill that was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday, than the Islamic party's former ally DAP.
This he lamented, was despite discussions between the two parties about the matter since 1993, till recently, when they were still together in the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact.
"Actually we have held dialogues with the DAP since 1993.
"By right non-Muslims should not have interfered in this issue (hudud). I see that the MIC and MCA appears to understand better but DAP does no understand," said Hadi, expressing disappointment.
Both MCA and MIC however, as well other BN component parties, have held a joint press conference objecting to the Bill yesterday.
MCA president Liow Tong Lai had rallied support to voice out objection against Umno's "cooperation" in allowing the amendments to be tabled.
Though Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak yesterday attributed the objections to a "big misunderstanding" which had been resolved after he explained it to BN components, who he claimed accepted his word on it.
The Marang MP also reiterated that the private bill which he had tabled, but later postponed for debate, was not a new 'hudud bill' but rather amendments to allow the Syariah Court to impose higher sentences for offences under its jurisdiction.
Specifically, the Bill was to amend Act 355 on the criminal jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.
It is commonly referred to as the "Hudud Bill" as it would ultimately pave way for the partial implementation of the Islamic penal code in PAS-ruled Kelantan.
The state had already passed an enactment to implement hudud but is constrained by the limitations that Act 355 impose on the punishments that can be meted out by the Syariah Courts.
Hadi, meanwhile, also claimed that even PAS-splinter Parti Amanah Negara appears to not have understood the issue.
"This is not a political game. This is a religious responsibility," Hadi told reporters at a press conference last night after he announced Meru assemblyperson Dr Abdul Rani Osman as PAS' candidate for the Sungai Besar by-election.
Hadi said this when asked whether PAS will be using the hudud issue as part of its by-election campaign.
Thursday was the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting for this session and Hadi's Bill was initially listed as the last item on the order paper, but it was pushed up by the Government.
'No problem fielding outsider as candidate'
On the party's candidate for Sungai Besar, Hadi said it is not a problem for Rani to be an outsider, as other parties had also done the same in the past.
"(Penang chief minister) Lim Guan Eng contested in Penang and he is not from Penang. That is not an issue," he said.
The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections were triggered by the deaths of its incumbents in the Sarawak helicopter tragedy.
Nominations day has been set for June 5 while polling is on June 18. -Mkini
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