K Pragalath

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS MP Dzulkefly Ahmad said there is no way for the party to establish an Islamic state in Malaysia.
Speaking at a forum on race relations and religion over the weekend, he said the political demography in Malaysia is such that there is no way for PAS to create an Islamic state
“There are 60% Muslims to 40% non-Muslims. We don’t even have all 60% support from the Muslims,” he said in response to a question.
Dzulkefly told the participants that Islamic state only existed during Prophet Muhammad’s era in Medina when another participant pointed out examples of Islamic states such as Pakistan.
“We have included the setting up of an Inter-Faith Commission in our election manifesto. Few years ago, PAS was dead against people like (lawyers) Haris Ibrahim and Malik Imtiaz (Sarwar) but today we work hand in glove,” explained the former toxicologist.
The Interfaith Commission was suggested by an NGO named Article 11 led by Malik Imtiaz to address inter-religious problems.
However, it was shot down by former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration after numerous Muslim groups, including PAS, protested against it.
Dzulkefly also dismissed fears over hudud, saying: “Why do you need to fear it when it is only mentioned twice in the Quran?”
He said PAS is more concerned about justice as it is mentioned many times in the Quran and it is what PAS is pursuing via the Pakatan Rakyat platform.
Issues such as the banning of wayang kulit, separate queues for men and women – as was done in the PAS-ruled Kelantan – were also raised by another participant.
To this, the PAS leader responded that Islam does not stipulate it outright for restriction and rules.(FMT)