DATUK Dr Haron Din of Pas recently said “Pas will implement hudud once the party takes control of the central government” and Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat remarked that Pakatan Rakyat will eventually accept the Islamic ideology.

To its credit, Pas has been consistent, if not correct, in its position that Islam will have no traction or relevance without the syariah, its legal code, and that the code is incomplete without the hudud.

Although the MCA appears to be the only party to openly castigate Pas, when juxtaposed with the prime minister’s call to “make mosques a place for everyone irrespective of ideology or political belief” and that “we should not be harsh and always talk about the punishment for committing a sin”, it is becoming increasingly clear where the real bone of contention lies, in particular for those who voted the Pakatan Rakyat to their unprecedented win.

While PKR and DAP are busy deliberating the prospect of forming the federal government, it is rhetorical to ask if they realise that their partner, who once proclaimed it would have no justification to exist if Malaysia was truly Islamic, has now five beachheads in Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor.

In essence, PKR and DAP have unwittingly taken on board a crawler not designed to reverse and to allay fears among our multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.

They should set aside partisanship and openly castigate their “offending” partner, and isolate it if necessary for attempting to betray the trust of the non-Muslims and moderates who voted them in.

TOMMY PETERS, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – April 18, 2008