Lau: PAS and PN policies are separate, 'Genting is still there'

 

INTERVIEW | PAS’ religious-based policies in the four states that it administered frequently puts its ally Gerakan, which primarily comprises non-Muslims, in an awkward position.

However, Gerakan president Dominic Lau, in a recent interview with Malaysiakini, believed that state-based laws and policies are not reflective of Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) overall direction.

The proof, said Lau, was in PN’s stint in the federal government between 2020 and 2022.

“Was PN in power once? Yes. When PN was in power, weren’t we able to continue consuming alcohol? Wasn’t pork still being sold?

“Were you forced to wear a songkok? Genting (Highlands Casino) is still there isn’t it?” asked Lau.

This, said Lau, was evidence that PN’s rule of other parts of the country need not follow the same mould used by PAS.

Instead, he said local governments have the freedom to enact laws and policies that are suitable based on ethnic, religious, and cultural considerations.

Talks of erosion of non-Muslim rights should PN rule, said Lau, were merely DAP propaganda.

Lau said this when asked if state policies in Kedah, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis were considered PN policies.

Kelantan, in particular, had been under the limelight recently after a non-Muslim business owner was fined for wearing shorts within her own premises. A non-Muslim hairdresser was also fined for serving a male customer.

Gerakan president Dominic Lau

Lau said that PN has proven that it was capable of governing fairly and the best example was how it handled the Covid-19 pandemic, where vaccines and financial aid were distributed without religious or racial considerations.

“When Covid-19 struck, PN was the federal government. In terms of vaccines and other aids, was it based on race, religion, and culture?

“The answer is no. This is very evident,” he said.

Should PN be allowed to govern again, Lau believed non-Muslims will continue to enjoy their rights.

“This is not empty talk. It has been proven. When PN was in power, we have done it,” he said.

In addition, PN’s leadership will always confer over important policy decisions, he said.

Lau said that during the recent Gerakan leadership election campaign, he had personally visited Kelantan and Terengganu and found that non-Muslims could continue to drink alcohol and consume pork freely.

Lau said that he had quizzed PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang about the gambling ban in those states.

According to Lau, Hadi explained that the ban in Kelantan was imposed in the 1990s only after receiving the nod of various religious leaders, including representatives from DAP.

“When (Nik Aziz) asked if Kelantan should ban gambling, the representatives for various religions agreed. Even DAP Youth chief at the time Anthony Loke... and Liew Chin Tong, they agreed too,” he said.

In view of this, Lau said DAP should not be attacking Gerakan over the new gambling bans in Perlis and Kedah.

On Kedah PAS chief Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s controversial remarks regarding the non-Malay community, Lau said Sanusi said it due to DAP’s provocation.

“Sanusi said it to attack DAP... Within PN, we are very clear about this. He was attacking DAP (and not non-Malays) because state elections are near,” he said.

On July 11, Sanusi defended PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that non-Muslims made up the majority of bribe givers.

This has led to police reports against Sanusi.

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This is the final article in a three-part series. The original article in Chinese can be accessed here. - Mkini