A new Pakatan Rakyat, minus PAS. That is what the DAP is gearing up for after being snubbed by PAS which decided to go ahead with its decision to pass the hudud Bill in Kelantan.
IPOH: PAS’ decision to ignore the wishes of its coalition partners will result in the formation of a new opposition pact, Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming said.
He said a special DAP national congress would be held soon to deliberate on the matter.
“At a state party committee meeting on Thursday, we all agreed that a special national congress be held to study and make a decision on PAS’ status in Pakatan. Among the discussions is the forming of a new Pakatan.”
Nga said the hudud Bill was not within the policy of Pakatan and was never agreed to by the Pakatan presidential council.
“The amendments made by the Kelantan government contravene the Federal Constitution which is the apex federal law in the country. The amendments are invalid,” he said, claiming that the move was a political trick to divide Pakatan.
Nga also said that the state DAP Socialist Youth wing (Dapsy) had also frozen all cooperation with PAS until the Islamist party sorted out its internal problems during its national congress in June.
In George Town, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng slammed PAS’ pro-Umno leaders for dishonesty, deceit and treachery in relation to the passing of the hudud laws.
Saying that the party felt betrayed by them, he said their actions might have sealed the fate of Pakatan Rakyat.
“They are turning their back on Pakatan and are willing to trust Umno to implement the law,” he said in a statement.
Lim said the party would hold an emergency central executive committee meeting on Monday to discuss its position against PAS.
The Penang chief minister said PAS had decided to throw its lot with Umno despite knowing that the passage of hudud would jeopardise the existence of Pakatan.
“By passing the laws, PAS has removed hudud as an issue in Kelantan. Since Umno has also supported hudud, it is no longer an issue against Umno in Kelantan,” he said.
Penang Dapsy chief Ng Wei Aik said the wing had frozen its ties with PAS with immediate effect and would also boycott activities organised by Pakatan Rakyat Youth.
“We have no issue with PKR and will continue to support the party in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.”
PAS tabled its amendments to Kelantan’s Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 at the State Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
The 44 assemblymen – 31 from PAS, 12 from Umno and one from PKR – passed the changes unanimously.
The Islamist party now needs to get the Bill passed in Parliament for hudud to be practised in Kelantan.
Under hudud, a convicted thief can have his hand cut off as punishment while adulterers can be stoned to death.
In Kuching, Sarawak DAP repeated its threat to quit the state Pakatan after the passing of the hudud Bill in Kelantan.
State DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the party had no choice but to consider leaving the Opposition coalition.
“As of now, I see no other option but the break-up of Sarawak Pakatan.
“But as this will be the most important decision to be made since I took the helm of the state committee in June 2013, I will convene a state DAP committee meeting soon to decide on the matter and get the endorsement of the full committee,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Chong, who is also Bandar Kuching MP, reiterated that DAP had taken a strong stand against the implementation of hudud in Malaysia.
He said that when Sarawak joined with Sabah, the Federation of Malaya and Singapore to form Malaysia, it was on condition that Malaysia remains a secular nation.
On the other side of the political divide, MCA and several other Barisan Nasional component parties have pledged to oppose the Bill in Parliament.
Pakatan was formed on April 1, 2008, with PKR, DAP and PAS agreeing on a common policy platform which allegedly did not include the setting up of an Islamic state. However, PAS has said that an Islamic state has always been its goal.
