The daughter of former PAS lawmaker Hatta Ramli has called on all quarters to stop speculating on the status of the Amanah man's marriage.

Atikah Hatta said the issue has caused the family emotional distress, and hoped the public and the mainstream media can focus on national issues instead.

"I plead with all those not related to the family to stop speculating and slandering immediately [...] stop making comments because the decision does not lie with you.

"Stop dictating our lives [...] focus on bigger national issues [...] be fair to us," she said in a Facebook posting yesterday.

In her post, Atikah also wrote of the deep love between her parents, and of how her father took care of his wife when she fell ill.

"2015 has been a hard year for us, especially for Ayah. But never once (did) Mak, who has been the strongest supporter of Ayah, ever doubted his (struggle)," she added.

Hatta won the Kuala Krai parliamentary seat on a PAS ticket in the 13th general elections (GE13).

The status of his marriage fell into question after he broke an oath of loyalty to PAS by joining Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

The oath requires the PAS member to divorce his or her spouse with the 'third talak' status, which stipulates that the couple cannot be remarried to each other.

This is unless the divorced wife marries another, and then gets a subsequent divorce.

Controversial divorce clause

Hatta is the only Kelantan elected representative to leave PAS to join splinter party Amanah.

The bai'ah (oath) for Kelantan PAS lawmakers is said to have included a controversial divorce clause for those whose actions 'betray' the party.

However, whether the oath is binding remains uncertain, especially if it was not made willingly.

Fellow Amanah man, Mujahid Yusof Rawa ( photo ) has argued that the pledge no longer holds water if PAS was the one who betrayed the oathmaker.

However, the Kelantan shariah chief judge Daud Mohammad has said Hatta must take the matter to court to clarify the status of his marriage.

Hatta however said the judge " has no business in my family affairs ".

The bai’ah is meant to bar PAS elected representatives from defecting to other parties.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad has redeemed his loyalty oath by feeding the poor.

However, Malaysiakini understands that unlike Kelantan and Terengganu, Selangor PAS' bai'ah does not include a divorce clause as of GE13.