Zaid warns Chinese that PAS will force religious laws on them

SABAK BERNAM - PAS will go after non-Muslims over religious offences if it ever achieves power, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim claimed today in a bid to dissuade voters from backing the Islamist party.

The former de facto law minister also said that PAS — which is aiming to implement hudud in Kelantan — has no objective other than to introduce and enforce Islamic laws.

“PAS has no struggle. They just want to catch women. If women wear tight clothing, they catch.

“If they rule Malaysia with Najib, all you Chinese will also be caught, not just the Muslims,” he told the audience during his speech today in Sekinchan.

Zaid went on to jest that PAS as the ruling party would curb his appreciation for the female form.

“It will start with the Malays. Once they (PAS) rule Putrajaya, amoi-amoi (Chinese ladies) will also be caught. Pity me. I like pretty women,” he joked.

He did not explain why non-Muslims would be subject to Islamic laws under PAS.

The former Umno and PKR man also urged the Malay community not to support PAS as it would split the opposition vote to Barisan Nasional’s advantage.

“For the Malay voters, no point in voting for PAS. It is a waste of time, PAS will surely lose,” Zaid said, before adding that he was backing Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) candidate in Sungai Besar.

Debate is currently ongoing over Islamic penal law in Malaysia after PAS’s so-called hudud Bill made it onto the floor of Parliament for the first time last month.

On May 26, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said tabled a motion that raised the so-called hudud Bill from the bottom of the Dewan Rakyat’s agenda to the top, catching many MPs by surprise, including her Cabinet colleagues.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang later asked for the Bill to be deferred to the lower House’s next meeting in October.

PAS and Umno leaders have defended Hadi’s proposal as simply a bid to strengthen the Shariah courts’ punitive powers; they are currently restricted from imposing sentences beyond a three-year jail term, RM5,000 fine and six lashes of the whip on Muslim offenders.

Critics, including from BN’s non-Muslim component parties, assert that Hadi’s Bill is an attempt to introduce hudud in Malaysia via the backdoor.