Is PAS and DAP the parties politically incorrect
that makes the mutual cooperation appear foolish?
DAP chairman Karpal Singh calls
upon PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to publicly make the party’s
stand on the by-law on gender segregation issue, and not to leave the matter to
the Kelantan state executive council.
Karpal, said the silence by the
Kelantan exco to review the by-law on gender segregation that forbidding
non-Muslim women to cut the hair or non-Muslim men, and vice versa in salons in
Kota Baru did not speak well of a responsible government.
“PAS leaders should realise that
silence is not the way out and it only aggravates the position. The by-law
should be outlawed without further ado,” he said in a statement here today.
Karpal said the justification on
enforcement of the gender segregation made by the Kota Baru Municipal Council
was publicly announced by the State Local Government, Cultural and Tourism Committee
chairman Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan on November 24.
“To him (Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan)
the ruling was a non-issue and he said the by-law was introduced in 1991 in
line with the PAS state government’s slogan ‘Growing with Islam’ that applied
to both Muslims and non-Muslim, and in 1999 stricter conditions were imposed by
the council,” he added.
However, Karpal said the
justification certainly evoked fear on the part of non-Muslims that attempts
were being made to apply Islamic law to non-Muslims, which would ultimately
mean the introduction of hudud to non-Muslims.
He said the vehement public
justification by Takiyuddin of the by-law was obviously the cause of the
silence on the part of Kelantan state exco to review the by-law.
Karpal said “the last that the
DAP would want to do would be not to scuttle efforts by the opposition pact in
its quest to capture Putrajaya in the coming election.
“However, that the objective
cannot, and must not, mean sacrificing principle at the altar of political
expediency. The DAP is committed to opposition to any attempts to extend
Islamic law to non-Muslims, whether directly or indirectly,” he added.
He said PAS must respond quickly
on this issue, in view of the fast approaching elections.
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