Wan Azizah doesn't rule out hudud, but no stonings 'in near future'

Opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has not ruled out the possibility of there being hudud law in Malaysia.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, she was asked to make a declaration that if she were to become the prime minister, there would be "no hudud, no stoning and no amputation".

Her response was that she can make a declaration that "hudud is not implemented unless all the things that are supposed to be in line of justice are there."

Asked if this meant that there was a situation where stoning would be acceptable in Malaysia, Wan Azizah replied: "Not in the near future."

Wan Azizah was being grilled on PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's proposed bill to amend syariah penal laws in Malaysia.

The interviewer, Mehdi Hasan, said this would pave the way for the implementation of hudud law, and punishments such as stoning and amputations.

Such punishment may have been possible under Hadi's initial proposal which sought to remove the punishment cap - except for the death penalty - for syariah offences altogether.

However, Hadi has since revised the bill and is now seeking to raise punishment to 30 years jail, RM100,000 fine, and 100 strokes of the cane.

Wan Azizah did not point this out in the interview.

Earlier in the interview, the PKR president had noted that as a Muslim, hudud law must be accepted as God's law, but that implementation was a different matter altogether.

She also cited how in the past, PKR had allied with PAS because the latter assured that implementation of hudud was not a priority, and there are other more pressing matters to deal with, such as eradication of poverty and education.

Asked whether she wanted nothing to do with PAS and Hadi's bill, Wan Azizah responded: "We want the votes of the people on the ground."

PAS on Thursday officially severed ties with PKR, citing their refusal to back Hadi's bill as one of the reasons to end the partnership. - Mkini