KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should stop emulating his much-hated archrival Datuk Seri Najib Razak and break his silence over the uncertainty of the position of Islam and hudud in Pakatan Rakyat (PR), Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.

Zaid, formally an Anwar loyalist himself, said Malaysians should begin making the same demands of the opposition as they have made of the Barisan Nasional (BN) or be at risk of practising double standards between both parties.

“On this note, Anwar the leader should be candid with voters and tell us what Pakatan agree on and what they don’t.

“To accuse the prime minister of being silent and uncommitted on certain issues will sound hollow if the Opposition Leader does the same,” the former Umno man said in a blog posting here.

“If Malaysians want the Opposition to rule, I suggest we start by demanding that the same ethical and moral standards be observed by all leaders regardless of affiliation.

“I’m not talking about recipes for how to go to Heaven or about changing our criminal laws or discarding Western culture. I’m talking about plain good conduct and the universal values that define us as a civilised humanity.

“It’s not enough that politicians pay lip service to have these values in their speeches. We must demand exemplary action,” he added.

Zaid said the opposition must not merely offer a change of personnel in Putrajaya but a new kind of moral leadership that would set the benchmark high in terms of moral standards in public affairs, and inspire others to not be lawbreakers but responsible citizens who do not live in fear of their government.

“With luck, we might even produce good law-abiding civil servants who are unafraid of their political masters and are able to restore dignity and integrity to the civil service,” he said.

Months after what has been described as the most divisive general election to date, the spectre of hudud, a topic that has threatened the ties between PR’s DAP, PKR and PAS partners, returned to the fore during PAS’s 59th annual muktamar here.

While the issue appeared deliberately buried in the run-up to the 13th general election on May 5, it was all hands on deck when the Islamist party huddled for its meet last week.

At many junctures, leaders even discussed amendments to the Federal Constitution to make the strict Islamic penal code part of federal laws.

Its Kuala Krau division, together with the Islamist party’s women’s wing, put the issue squarely on the table with their proposal they hope will pave the way forward for PR-led states to enforce the controversial criminal laws without interference from the Barisan Nasional (BN) controlled federal government.

“By sidelining and delaying the issue, it would be talk of the public... They assume that the success in bringing up syariah laws is the yardstick of the Islamic struggle,” said Shahril Azman, the delegate from Kuala Krau.

“There are many non-Muslims who support us. We have more than 20,000 members of the Supporters’ Congress who are ready with us if we want to implement Allah’s laws,” he added, referring to the Islamist party’s non-Muslim wing.

Backing the Kuala Krau division, PAS’s women’s wing alleged that man-made laws that followed the convention, such as the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) in crime, were “weak” and have failed to improve security issues.

“Everybody in Malaysia cannot afford to bear the risk and misfortune resulting from conventional laws which have not been successful in curbing crime,” said women’s wing delegate Mumtaz Md Nawi.

The delegates also cited the endorsement of Kelantan Umno politician Tan Sri Annuar Musa to carry out hudud in the state as proof that there has been support for PAS from across the political divide.

The hudud issue remained a resounding theme throughout the four-day meeting among the party’s delegates, with many speakers congratulating or praising—often both—neighbouring Brunei for introducing hudud despite global criticism.

The tiny oil-rich state had last month announced it would enforce hudud as part of its Syariah Penal Code from next year, prompting condemnation from global human rights advocates.

In Islamic jurisprudence, hudud covers crimes such as theft, illicit sexual relations, making unproven accusations of illicit sex, causing physical hurt, drinking intoxicants, apostasy, and acts contrary to Islamic belief.

The code implemented by Brunei specifies punishments as prescribed by Islamic holy texts, including stoning to death those caught for adultery.

However, prosecutors must fulfil a high burden of proof, including the testimony of at least four credible witnesses, in order to carry out the punishment.

Syariah law is generally confined to Muslims, but can extend to non-Muslims if they are involved in aiding or abetting an offence committed by a Muslim.

In calling for the party to review its ‘tahaluf siyasi’ — an Arabic term meaning “political consensus” — the powerful ulama (clerics) faction had suggested that its partnership in the three-party PR opposition pact had not benefited PAS yet in its goal to implement Islamic policies.

On Monday, party information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man expounded on this call, saying PAS will debate pushing PR-led state governments to impose the controversial hudud laws in their respective states at the Islamist party’s muktamar today.

The three states currently ruled by PR — composed of PAS, PKR and secular DAP — are Kelantan, Penang and Selangor.

PAS has previously passed laws in Kelantan and Terengganu introducing hudud but has not been able to carry them out due to conflict with federal laws.

PAS’s foe, Umno, had repeatedly used the political hot potato to its advantage when among the conservative Malay-Muslim support base by accusing the opposition party of straying from its original goal to set up an Islamic state, more recently in the run-up to the May national polls.

But Umno’s coalition partner, MCA, as well as PAS’s PR allies, PKR and DAP, have resisted the calls to embrace hudud, which they have said would dilute the notion of a moderate country and change Malaysia into an Islamic theocracy.