PAS to impose Islamic laws in Malaysia if it comes to power

Straits Times ^ | By Reme Ahmad

[DeaconBenjamin]

The party will focus on winning the votes of Malay Muslims, who make up 55% of the population, says acting president

PARTI Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) will implement its version of an Islamic state if it comes to power even though non-Muslims are unlikely to support its goals, says the party's acting president Abdul Hadi Awang.

'If non-Muslims can see that Islam is not just about Hudud but about the economy, about land and other laws, I believe that they will accept Islam as a national policy.' - PAS acting president Abdul Hadi Awang --

Malaysia's plural society would remain but Malay Muslims, who form about 55 per cent of the population, would continue to be the core group to woo in national politics, he said in an interview with the New Sunday Times and Berita Minggu.

He hoped non-Muslims would give PAS 'a chance to show Islam without us forcing them'.

Asked if PAS still espoused a theocratic state with no compromise for the country's plural society, the 55-year-old said: 'Yes, that has been the foundation of our struggle since PAS was formed.

'A plural society is an objective derived from an Islamic nation, which is the message of Islam for the whole of mankind.'

His continued emphasis on an Islamic state is likely to isolate non-Muslim voters who have become wary of political Islam in the wake of the Sept 11 terror attacks and believe that the biggest opposition party is espousing a narrow interpretation of the religion.

The government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said Malaysia is an Islamic state but PAS has rejected the assertion.

It wants to implement hudud law under which thieves would have their hands amputated and adulterers would be stoned to death.

PAS' insistence on its version of an Islamic state has caused the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) to quit a four-party opposition alliance.

The other two parties that remain in the Parti Alternatif are Malay-based - Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Nasional and Parti Rakyat Malaysia - and are merging.

DAP adviser Chen Man Hin rapped Mr Abdul Hadi for harping on the issue.

'PAS has intellectuals and educated people. They should re-assess Hadi's plans and policies and rid the party of Hadi's illusions,' he was quoted by the New Sunday Times as saying.

Mr Abdul Hadi became party chief last June, succeeding the late Datuk Fadzil Noor, who was seen as a more moderate Islamic leader.

His views are an important marker on how PAS would draw its battlelines in national elections that must be called by the end of next year.

Asked about the type of theocratic state he wished for, Mr Abdul Hadi said: 'An Islamic state that displays justice in a plural society.

'If non-Muslims can see that Islam is not just about hudud but about the economy, about land and other laws, I believe that they will accept Islam as a national policy while they remain believers of other faiths. They are not forced to embrace Islam.'

After virtually doubling its number of seats in Parliament in the 1999 polls to 27 and wresting control of Terengganu to add to its rule in Kelantan, PAS has greater ambitions to win more seats and states in the next elections.

Questioned about the DAP's opposition to an Islamic state, Mr Abdul Hadi said: 'That is DAP's right.

'Our cooperation is in the elections to defeat the ruling Barisan Nasional. We realise that Malays continue to be at the core of national politics. This cannot be denied.'

He said it was difficult for PAS and Umno to work together again as they did after the May 1969 racial riots.

'That was a temporary liaison, when we were together in overcoming issues.

'But on the principle of upholding Islam, I feel it is too difficult to be united.'

[DeaconBenjamin]

Talk about tyranny of the majority.

[American Soldier]

The most disgusting people in the world are those who would jump up and down in the streets and vote at the ballot box for the own enslavement.

Far more than disgusting, such people are extraordinarily dangerous. We will spend the next century, perhaps the next centuries, fighting them. Our worldviews are contradictory and cannot exist in the same world. Their side knows this. Hopefully ours is waking up too.

[Dec31,1999]

Ping and bump.

[Larry Lucido]

He hoped non-Muslims would give PAS 'a chance to show Islam without us forcing them'.

"But, if they won't, then we will just have to force them."

[TLBSHOW]

Thanks for the ping and in other news Islam is not Peaceful religion but a evil cult of slavery.....

[Stopislamnow]

Heheh.

When will our leaders wake up and realize Islam is just not about peace.

Ann Coulter had the best advice about Islamic countries.

[BenR2]

This is NOT good for Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Confucianists in Malaysia -- of which there are large numbers.

Note that the population is only 55% Muslim. This means that 45% of the population would be subjected to Sharia law.

I visited Malaysia in the 1980s, and -- even without Sharia Law -- non-Muslims are oppressed, though not NEARLY as badly as they would be under Sharia law.

If you want to know what it is like to live under Sharia Law as a non-Muslim, please visit: http://www.dhimmitude.org

[BenR2]

I should have typed: "This means that 45% of the population will be subjected to Sharia law WITHOUT their consent.

[lostlegend]

PAS will have great difficulty winning any more turf, or seats. They are at their zenith.

The largest party is United Malays National Organization (UMNO). Party membership is open to non-moslems and non-Malays. It's National Front allies are the Chinese party Gerakhan (the majority party in Malaysia's "Silicon Island," Pinang); the largest Chinese party, the MCA, or Malaysian Chinese Association, and the Malaysian Congress of Indians.

The MCA I'd put to the right of Newt Gindrich, Limbaugh would like 'em. I know some members.

In the state of Selangor, Chinese are about 50% of the population. Selangor includes Kuala Lumpur of Twin Towers fame. Churches are as common as mosques, not to mention temples, both Hindi and Buddhists and others.

In East Malaysia, on Borneo, Christians are the largest religious group in both Sarawak and Sabah states.

There is no love lost between UMNO and PAS. Not to memtion that PAS could not form a coalition. You have to have the other religions and races in order to have a majority of seats. UMNO is hated by some in PAS not in small measure because they work with non-moslems.

The Chinese Democratic Action Party is a socialist totalitarian party of atheist persuasion. They are very small, just 8 federal seats, and no states or cities. The other two allies of PAS are so small as to be irrelevant. Anwar's party would fit in your back yard. Only a slight exaggeration.

Our family are close friends with the minister of Women's Development and her family. Her kids are students at Cal State Sacramento, and American River College in Sacramento. Her policies are driving PAS stark raving nuts. Equality for women? No scaves? Argh, what's the world coming to.

[BenR2]

Our family are close friends with the minister of Women's Development and her family. Her kids are students at Cal State Sacramento, and American River College in Sacramento. Her policies are driving PAS stark raving nuts. Equality for women? No scaves? Argh, what's the world coming to.

/////
Thanks for the update and great information. Your post encourages me greatly. I love Malaysia and would hate to see it fall under Sharia law.

[Mike Darancette]

'If non-Muslims can see that Islam is not just about Hudud but about the economy, about land and other laws, I believe that they will accept Islam as a national policy.'

And to what country will they point as an example?