No matter the warnings by its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ally, DAP, whose adviser Lim Kit Siang said last night that PAS's insistence on hudud could well be the opposition pact's downfall.
All the state government is waiting for now, Amar said, was the proposal and recommendation from both state and federal committees before moving to table in Parliament a private member’s bill on the implementation of the Islamic law.
Details are expected to be laid out during a special state assembly sitting this December 29 to table and pass amendments to the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code II.
PAS in Kelantan is clearly barging ahead with its plan to enforce Shariah criminal law in the state, despite opposition from DAP.
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who leads the opposition pact, yesterday said Kelantan's move was "problematic" and that he was still in the dark over the provisions of the proposed amendments.
"I'm feeling positive that it will be implemented. But first, we want to see the proposals (from the technical committee), then we will decide," Amar told The Malaysian Insider.
In May, PAS decided to postpone the tabling of a private member's bill in Parliament to give sufficient time to a joint Putrajaya and Kelantan government technical committee to study the implementation of the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II.
The party had also agreed that the technical committee should be chaired by Amar while Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom would supervise a federal-level technical committee under the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Despite the postponement, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu had said that the party was determined to implement hudud.
Amar said the state and federal-level discussions were serious, all of which pointed to the likelihood that the law would be implemented.
"Nonetheless, everything is still in the discussion stage. Let's see the results of the technical committee, what are their proposals," he said.
Amar said the Kelantan government was relying on professionals, including Shariah Chief Judge Datuk Daud Muhammad, and not politicians, to see to the implementation of hudud law.
"We sent out professionals, no politicians are involved. We want the experts, such as lawyers to 'slug' it out first.”
As for the party's Pakatan Rakyat partners, especially DAP, which has repeatedly stated its opposition to hudud, Amar said those in PR should respect the Islamist party's position on the matter.
"The issue of hudud has long been decided even before the formation of PR. It is not something new. So, in my view this should not be a problem.
"This we have decided before the alliance," he said.
PAS has repeatedly stated that it remained firm on implementing hudud despite opposition from its allies.
On Saturday, PAS’s Ulama wing acting deputy chief Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed reiterated the Kelantan government’s assurance to non-Muslims in the state that the Islamic Penal Code would only apply to those professing Islam.
He said PAS has given its “full commitment” to plans to implement the Islamic law within the framework of the existing democratic system, and would continue to push for hudud.
Hudud, he added, was a policy of PAS enshrined in the party’s constitution.
Mahfodz also claimed that more than 70% of voters in Kelantan have expressed their support for the implementation of the Islamic penal code.
PKR central committee member Latheefa Koya today questioned the timing of the assembly meeting to discuss implementing hudud in Kelantan, just as Umno and Barisan Nasional were thrust firmly under the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) spotlight.
"It is strange that Kelantan PAS suddenly calls for a special state assembly meeting to table an amendment to the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II," she said, after Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob announced it.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, when delivering his keynote address at the party's 2014 national conference on Sunday, also highlighted that PR's choice for prime minister as well as a united position against hudud were crucial if the coalition hoped to win over moderate Malaysians.
Lim's call comes after one of the coalition's most fractious years, which saw PR almost torn apart over the Selangor menteri besar saga and Kelantan PAS's attempts to push for hudud in the state.
DAP's Lim Kit Siang yesterday also warned that the Kelantan government’s plan to amend its Shariah laws would only work against PAS and its partners.
He said PAS' insistence on hudud could cause PR to lose both Putrajaya and Kelantan.
Among the crimes under the focus of the Islamic penal code are adultery, consumption of alcohol, and slander over adultery.
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