PETALING JAYA — With the May 5 general election still seen as too close to call as campaigning enters its final stretch, leaders from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) yesterday sought to put up a united front to dispel the notion that the opposition coalition is in disarray. In recent days, the PR has had to grapple with contradictory statements issued by various leaders about the hudud and even calls by some quarters not to vote for component parties.

“The stand of Pakatan Rakyat … is clear in supporting (all) valid candidates chosen by PR,” opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said at a joint press conference attended by Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) Deputy President Mohamad Sabu and Democratic Action Party (DAP) Organising Secretary Anthony Loke. Mr Anwar is the de facto leader of the coalition’s third member, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

“The spirit within Pakatan Rakyat is that DAP will support all component parties,” added Mr Loke.

Meanwhile, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng were reported to have said in a joint statement that both parties recognise their right to practise their respective ideologies, and remain agreeable on 95 per cent of common issues, which included freedom, justice and integrity.

Since Nomination Day on April 20, the coalition has been dogged by issues, such as the PAS and the PKR vying for the same seats in several constituencies, with Mr Hadi raising eyebrows with his remark about “devils in PKR”.

While the parties have since managed to resolve the issue of overlapping seats, such public display of differences has allowed rival Barisan Nasional, led by Prime Minister Najib Razak, to paint a picture of an opposition that could not put its own house in order.

At the weekend, the controversial issue of hudud — the strict Islamic penal code which prescribes harsh penalties such as cutting off limbs — once again emerged as a thorn in the PR’s flesh when two senior DAP leaders called on voters to abandon PAS candidates, due to the Islamic party’s commitment to the hudud.

In a blog post on Saturday, Johor DAP Deputy Chief Norman Fernandez called on Johoreans to “think hard and deep if PAS is really worthy of their votes”, while Kedah DAP committee member S Neelamekan was reported to have said a day later that he “will certainly not vote for PAS” and urged Malaysians to do the same.

The two DAP men’s comments came in the wake of statements made by senior PAS leaders in recent days that the Islamic party remained committed to implementing the hudud should the opposition coalition win control of the federal government.

On Thurday, PAS’ Deputy Spiritual Leader, Dr Haron Din, raised the spectre of a split in the opposition camp when he was reported as saying that it was possible his party would leave the PR due to the strong objection to the hudud’s implementation by its allies.

DAP leaders have said they would not support amending the Federal Constitution to implement the Islamic penal code, noting that hudud has never been part of the PR’s common policy framework.

On Friday, DAP Chairman Karpal Singh urged Mr Anwar, widely viewed as the PR’s candidate for Prime Minister should the coalition succeed in its march to Putrajaya, to state his stand on the hudud issue. However, The New Straits Times reported Mr Anwar remained coy, saying the PKR’s stand was to allow any party to raise any issue, discuss them and come to a consensus.