GEORGE TOWN: PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party will not be swayed from its agenda and that “enemies” are picking out aspects of the religion, such as hudud, to strike fear among the people.

 Abdul Hadi said a picture is being painted, as if hudud is the first order of business should the Islamist party form the federal government, whereas it is only a part of Islamic laws covering many areas, including international and civil laws.

“In hudud, there is the punishment of cutting off a thief’s hands and the penalty for adultery. These are what they have picked out ... picked out by the media and various others to make people fear Islam,” he said during a Ramadan ceramah (talk) attended by hundreds of supporters at the Penang PAS headquarters in Pongsu Seribu, Kepala Batas, Penang.

Abdul Hadi said about five years ago, the late former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew wanted to know more about PAS, and the Singapore embassy in Kuala Lumpur contacted his political secretary to set up a meeting.

Abdul Hadi said Lee had met him when the Singapore leader came to Malaysia on a working visit, and asked him many questions about PAS’ Islamic agenda and its foreign policies should it form the federal government.

“I said our policies will be according to Islam and peace would be on top of the list. Peace is the priority in international relations.

“Islam has its way of solving issues and uniting people of different backgrounds through the justice and mercy it brings,” he said.

When hudud was made a hot issue, Abdul Hadi said he was invited to speak at Singapore’s Nanyang University on the matter.

He said he had told the mostly non-Muslim academics that they cannot define Islam as a religion based on Western terms.

“Islam is the teaching of Allah that covers the creation of men, the relationships between people, life and the hereafter. It covers everything.

“But when it comes to hudud, all they think about is cutting off hands.”

Abdul Hadi said he had explained how the Islamic justice system works, how it dictates the way judges make their decisions based on the arguments presented to them.

“Judges and witnesses must be fair. If there is doubt in one argument, hudud cannot be executed. Even the witnesses can face hudud if they are found to be unfair.”

Abdul Hadi said his non-Muslim audience had understood and did not have much to ask, while the ones making noises were those who did not attend the talk.

“What is most hurtful is those writing on social media, who never studied Islam but act like they did.

Abdul Hadi said PAS’ approach is to engage in dialogues with everyone, including DAP, PKR and political rival Umno.

He said the focus now is to amend the Syariah Courts Act to allow certain hudud laws to be implemented.

Deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man also sent subtle messages to those against hudud and the progressive faction, who are unhappy with the party and the present leadership.

He said the beauty of Islamic law could only be seen when it is implemented, and it will give the people confidence. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 29, 2015.