Chop off PAS if needed, Gobind tells Pakatan
His late father and former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh was one of the fiercest opponents of PAS' theocratic ambitions.
And now Gobind Singh Deo has warned that Pakatan Rakyat has to suspend or sever ties with the Islamic party if the Kelantan government pressed ahead with its special state assembly sitting on the hudud bill slated for Dec 29.
His late father and former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh was one of the fiercest opponents of PAS' theocratic ambitions.
And now Gobind Singh Deo has warned that Pakatan Rakyat has to suspend or sever ties with the Islamic party if the Kelantan government pressed ahead with its special state assembly sitting on the hudud bill slated for Dec 29.
The DAP lawmaker said PAS must remember that all component parties in Pakatan were duty bound to defend the common policy framework.
"This is the agreement which formed the basis of our campaign and strength upon which Pakatan garnered support from the people and its victories in 2008 and 2013.
"If Pakatan is to remain a political force to be reckoned with, one which the people can trust and respect, we must now demonstrate our commitment to uphold the common policy framework," he added.
This, the Puchong MP, said included suspending or cutting ties with any partner in the coalition which threatened the spirit of Pakatan by working against it.
"We must be firm and show that it is something which cannot and must not to be taken lightly," he added.
Gobind was referring to Malaysiakini 's interview with Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, where the latter said hudud was more important than capturing Putrajaya.
The PAS leader had also admitted to be willing to work with Umno to implement hudud.
Gobind described this as the "clearest admission" by PAS that the party was never serious about its role in Pakatan and would never be committed to the common policy framework.
"It appears that all this while, PAS weighed in on Pakatan to win support so as to win Putrajaya so that they could set up an Islamic state and implement hudud even with Umno if DAP and PKR disagreed.
"PAS now plans to table a bill in the Kelantan state assembly to implement hudud despite being reminded numerous times by both PKR and DAP that they cannot do this without the consensus of all parties in the coalition.
"PAS is therefore forcing a split in Pakatan by pushing ahead," he added.
Gobind's remarks come hot on the heels of DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang stating that he might boycott Pakatan presidential meetings if the Dec 29 sitting proceeded as planned.
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