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Dr Mahathir shocked with UMNO support for PAS’s hudud, says it is un-Islamic

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today (April 16) warned UMNO of the repercussions of supporting PAS’s agenda to implement hudud punishments in Kelantan, reiterating that the Islamic penal code was being introduced for political purposes.

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks during an interview at his office in Kuala Lumpur on October 18, 2013. Photo: Reuters

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks during an interview at his office in Kuala Lumpur on October 18, 2013. Photo: Reuters

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KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today (April 16) warned UMNO of the repercussions of supporting PAS’s agenda to implement hudud punishments in Kelantan, reiterating that the Islamic penal code was being introduced for political purposes.

In a blog post last night, the former UMNO president said that he was “shocked” to learn that Kelantan UMNO was supportive of PAS’s hudud laws and warned that the state chapter should know what it was doing.

“I was shocked to hear that Kelantan UMNO supports PAS’s hudud. I hope they understand what they are doing,” Dr Mahathir said.

The Kelantan legislature unanimously passed amendments to the state’s Islamic criminal punishment code on March 19, supported by all of UMNO’s 12 assemblymen.

“PAS and also Kelantan UMNO’s intentions for introducing PAS’s version of hudud are for political purposes. This makes PAS’s laws and UMNO’s support towards it un-Islamic,” Dr Mahathir wrote.

He said that it was clear that hudud was being introduced for political reasons, based on the speech of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in 2003, who said the party had to set aside its Islamic state and hudud agenda from being implemented at federal level in order to win the general election.

Hadi, Dr Mahathir noted, had recognised that PAS’s Islamic agenda had not worked in its political cooperation with the DAP and Parti Keadilan under the previous opposition coalition, Barisan Alternatif, to topple the ruling Barisan Nasional government at the 1999 general election.

He also noted that PAS’s hudud was un-Islamic because it was unfair, since only Muslims would face the harsh punishments under hudud, while non-Muslims would face lighter sentences under civil laws.

Dr Mahathir said it was unjust that people should be punished unequally in the same society.

“PAS’s hudud is not Islamic hudud as it is very unfair, when the Quran demands justice when punishing.

He said that there will be some who would say that even if hudud tarnishes Islam’s image, it would not matter as “God’s laws” were being implemented.

“But is it true that punishments that are created without taking into account Islamic justice with political reasons, are God’s laws?

“Thinking that it is not important what non-Muslims or even Muslims think of Islam, is wrong. Islam spread quickly last time and was received because of the image of the Islamic civillisation that was so advanced that it attracted non-Muslims,” he added.

“Doing something for other interests that smears the image of Islam is something that goes against the teachings of the religion and pushes non-Muslims from Islam. It is an act of anti-’dakwah’,” he wrote, referring to the term used to describe the act of informing people about Islam and inviting them to the faith.

Dr Mahathir said on these grounds, PAS’s hudud law that was passed in the state assembly cannot be accepted as Islamic law.

“In Malaysia, Shariah laws are only limited to familial matters in a Muslim family. It does not persecute Muslims or non-Muslims.

“For other crimes, Malaysian laws do not differentiate between religions, in order to give justice to all,” he added.

Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister also hit out at Hadi whom, he said, had accused him of not understanding Islamic laws and being unqualified to talk about hudud.

“I can also say that Hadi does not know about administration and is not eligible to rule a state. As a trained doctor, I can identify diseases, including diseases in the administration and heal it,” he said.

“I am not that ignorant in religion matters. The results during my administration can be seen.”

Dr Mahathir had previously said that the Kelantan UMNO assemblymen who had voted for the hudud bill were not even aware of what they were supporting.

He said that PAS’s hudud law was unjust because it created two sets of laws, one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims, and included the punishment of stoning to death, which was not even included in the Quran.

He also added that PAS’s intention to implement hudud was not to uphold Islam, but for politics and to win elections.

On March 19, the Kelantan legislative assembly unanimously passed the Shariah Criminal Code II Enactment 1993 (Amendment 2015).

PAS’s allies in the opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat – DAP and PKR – said they would not support the bill in Parliament.

The Islamist party’s renewed push for hudud also caused DAP to terminate its ties with the PAS president, although it decided to remain in the opposition coalition.

Hadi has also submitted a private member’s bill to Parliament on the enactment of hudud in Kelantan. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

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