KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 ― MCA has called on fellow parties in Barisan Nasional (BN) to take a stance against the possibility of hudud laws being implemented in Kelantan, saying that it is the ruling coalition’s role to protect the Federal Constitution.

In a press conference at Wisma MCA, the party’s president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that MCA is firm in its stance against hudud, and asked fellow BN parties to echo its stand.

“MCA has made our stand very clearly. We are against PAS’s hudud,” said Liow.

“And we would like to call upon the component parties, urge the component parties to go against the PAS’ hudud, which is actually against the Federal Constitution.”

The long-ruling BN coalition is dominated by Umno, which is in turn led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Najib previously said that Putrajaya has never rejected hudud, but explained that many issues must be resolved before the Islamic penal code could be enforced in the country.

Today, Liow reminded Umno that it needs to consider the position of its BN partners if it decides to support opposition party PAS’s plan to remove legal barriers to the enforcement of hudud in Kelantan.

“BN must go back by consensus.” Liow said. “MCA is very firm in agreeing and if somebody do not agree, so there is no consensus, cannot be.”

PAS announced plans this month to introduce two private members’ bills in Parliament to allow it to enforce hudud in Kelantan.

The move has allowed BN’s MCA and Gerakan to target the Islamist party and Pakatan Rakyat ally DAP.

But Umno’s open support for the plans to implement the Islamic criminal law in Kelantan has opened its own BN partners to the same criticisms that they have aimed at their rivals.

In 1993, the PAS state government passed the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II, but the strict Islamic penal code has not been enforced.

In Islamic jurisprudence, hudud covers crimes such as theft, robbery, adultery, rape and sodomy.  Punishments for the crimes are severe, including amputation, flogging and death by stoning.