KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today a weak Barisan Nasional government is to blame for the resurging calls for controversial hudud laws.

According to the former prime minister, the strict Islamic law is being used as a vote bait by its proponents, while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration is unable to curb it due to a weaker majority in the Parliament.

“Maybe the government is in need of support, because during my time I was leading a strong government with two-thirds majority, and I adhere definitely to the teachings of Islam,” Dr Mahathir told reporters after a book launch at the Institute of Diplomatic and Foreign Relations here.

“It’s not about justice, about hudud, about implementing Islamic laws. It’s about becoming popular because we are a democratic nation, and popularity wins votes.”

Dr Mahathir also reiterated his stand that implementing hudud in Malaysia will not bring justice as Muslims and non-Muslims will be subjected to different punishments for the same crime.

“If you try to apply hudud law on Muslims, and non-Muslims are exempted … Is that justice?” he asked.

In the 2013 general elections, Barisan Nasional (BN) won 133 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat while the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact gained 89.

However, the BN coalition garnered just under 47 per cent of the popular vote against PR’s 51 per cent.

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

In all previous attempts, PAS had been frustrated by BN tactics to prevent any vote by employing a “talking out” tactic where BN MPs have been allowed to speak for an extended period of time to prevent such private members’ bills from even being debated.

The filibuster-style tactic was frequently used when Dr Mahathir was still prime minister.

This was believed to be largely due to Dr Mahathir seeking to avoid putting Umno MPs in a difficult position of deciding whether to back or reject the Shariah enactment.

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 punishments including whipping, stoning and amputation while the other seeks to empower Shariah courts to mete out the sentences.

According to the Shariah Courts (Criminal) Jurisdiction Act 1965, the Islamic court cannot sentence offenders to more than three years in jail or fine them more than RM 5,000. It also cannot sentence offenders to be whipped more than six times.