MCA wing wants two ministers censured for supporting hudud openly

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — MCA's Wanita wing today demanded that the Barisan Nasional supreme council take disciplinary action against two federal ministers for openly supporting opposition party PAS's plan to implement hudud law in Kelantan.

Wanita chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie said the two Umno leaders — Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed — had jumped the gun by declaring support for the controversial plan when neither the supreme council nor the Cabinet had come to a consensus on it.

She argued in a terse statement that it was unbecoming of two senior leaders to allegedly turn their backs on the power-sharing principle that has governed BN from the time of the country's independence.

“As such, in order to uphold the spirit and dignity of BN, I urge that disciplinary action should be taken against the two ministers and both should be instructed to withdraw from the technical committee on Hudud Law with Kelantan PAS government immediately,” she said.

Jamil, who is the minister in charge of religious affairs, had previously said that Putrajaya is ready to give the green light to any state wishing to implement hudud.

Mustapha, who is the minister of international trade and industry, was earlier quoted by national newswire Bernama as saying that he had “no problem” with PAS's hudud plan in Kelantan, noting that it is “compulsory” and “unquestionable” for Muslims to support Islamic law.

The debate over hudud — which has long been a key goal of Islamist party PAS — resurfaced in recent weeks after the party announced plans to table two private member's bills in Parliament to empower the Kelantan government to implement hudud.

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 were not implemented.

PAS, which partners DAP and PKR in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, has since decided to delay tabling the two bills to allow a proposed bi-partisan committee to study the implementation of the Islamic penal code.