Don’t play into Umno’s hand, Khalid tells DAP
Let the Kelantan people decide on hudud and should they reject it, let them vote the PAS government out, says PAS’ Shah Alam MP
Alyaa Azhar, Free Malaysia Today
PAS central working committee member, Khalid Abdul Samad, said that the DAP should wash its hands of the hudud issue and let the Kelantan people decide for themselves.
“DAP should do a Pontius Pilate and wash its hands (of the issue),” said Khalid, referring to the Roman governor who sealed Jesus Christ’s fate by symbolically washing his hands in water at his trial.
He was commenting on Lim Kit Siang’s statement yesterday that there was a dire prospect of Pakatan Rakyat breaking up over the hudud issue.
Khalid said there was no need for the DAP to overreact and reasoned if Pakatan was to break up over hudud, it would be exactly what Umno had wanted from the beginning.
“There should not be any element of fear on DAP’s part as the hudud issue will not result in any form of constitutional amendment,” said the Shah Alam MP.
“DAP should respect the democratic process. Should the Kelantanese agree to hudud, let it be and should they reject it, let them vote the PAS government out in the next general election.”
The PAS-led Kelantan government would be tabling two private members bills in Parliament in June to implement hudud in the state by next year.
Lim yesterday said that majority of the voters who voted for Pakatan in the last general election did not do so just for hudud.
He said that Pakatan would not have continued to deny Barisan Nasional (BN) its two-thirds parliamentary majority if hudud had been the agenda for Pakatan.
“If hudud becomes a major issue, Pakatan Rakyat may go the way of the previous Barisan Alternatif,” said Lim.
Barisan Alternatif which consisted of DAP, PAS, the National Justice Party and the Malaysian People’s Party (both now known as PKR), saw DAP withdrawing from the coalition in September 2001.
Touching on the incident, fellow PAS central working committee member, Dzulkefly Ahmad, said Lim’s statement yesterday on hudud felt like deja vu.
The former Kuala Selangor MP called for restraint and the good judgment of leaders in the Pakatan coalition for the hudud issue to be resolved.
“The voice of reason should supersede the voice of emotion,” said Dzulkefly.
