KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — PAS remains committed in rejecting religious extremism, a party leader told allies today whom he said has “demonised” the Islamist party over its plan to enforce hudud in Kelantan.

In an open letter on hudud today, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad insisted that the proposal to start applying the Islamic penal code has not suddenly turned the party away from the path of moderation and that it remained the same PAS that is true to its motto of “justice for all”.

“Overnight, the Hudud Bill has again demonised PAS. PAS has instantaneously become a punching bag and received unending blows from all quarters.

“It is most baffling to witness the sudden change of attitude towards PAS, which a while ago was praised for all the correct things we stood for in defending the right of others to practice the religions and faiths of their choice,” the former Kuala Selangor MP wrote today.

Dzulkefly expressed sadness over the tone with which critics have used in the debate over the Islamic penal code, which he said indicated a prejudice born out of sheer hatred for anything religious.

But despite the torrent of criticism, he maintained that the PAS is steadfast in its opposition to “a rigid and seemingly intolerant Islam that is a sure fodder for more intense religious bigotry and conflict.”

“We will be unwavering in our partnership with the rakyat to go against any sacrilegious acts on places of worship, the like of cow head intimidation and the debilitating polemic of Kalimah Allah, that have all deepened the religious divide,” he continued.

Earlier in his letter, the executive director of PAS’s research centre denied that the Islamist party was falling into a trap laid by rival Umno to rend apart the Pakatan Rakyat pact, saying his missive was indicative of the party’s “political acumen” towards “Umno’s purported decoy”.

Dzulkefly then repeated previous arguments that hudud would not extend beyond Muslims and that its enforcement was “an integral part of the Islamic legal system, albeit a small one.”

In 1993, the PAS state government passed the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II, allowing it to impose the strict Islamic penal code in the state. But the laws have not been implemented.

PAS is now looking for parliamentary approval to implement hudud. It plans to put forward two private members’ bills in Parliament. One seeks approval for unconventional punishments, some of which are for offences already covered in the Penal Code. The other seeks to empower shariah courts to mete out the unconventional punishments.

According to the Syariah Courts (Criminal) Jurisdiction Act 1965, the Islamic court cannot sentence offenders to more than three years in jail or fine them more than RM5,000. It also cannot sentence offenders to be whipped more than six times.

The bid has again brought up the fundamental differences between secularist DAP and Islamist PAS, both allies in PR, which previously led to the abandonment of a precursor co-operation.

PAS has taken a stance supporting the Christian right to use “Allah”, the Arabic word for God that some Muslims insist is exclusive to Islam, although the Islamist party’s clergy wing has openly opposed the position.