Will the federal government please stand up?

The battle lines have been drawn. What the Terengganu PAS government promised it will do, it has done. The hudud (Islamic penal code) bill has been tabled and passed in the state government. Although there are a few other steps before it becomes law officially (including the nominal sultan's signature), the gauntlet has been thrown at the feet of the federal government.

There is wide consensus that the bills are constitutional. I'm sure that PAS' legal advisors including Muttalib Embong and former lord president Salleh Abas are aware of the relevant constitutional arguments.

Articles 74 & 75, Article 128 and List I and II from the 9th schedule in the Federal Constitution combined makes it clear that the Terengganu state government have crossed constitutional boundaries.

What is surprising is the lack of action on behalf of the federal government in particular the offices of the attorney-general and the de facto law minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

The initial response of a certain Umno branch chairperson in Kelantan who also happens to be a partner in a major legal firm based in Kuala Lumpur to bring about proceedings against the PAS Terengganu government because of the unconstitutional nature of the hudud bill has tapered into a wait-and-see attitude.

I find this surprising given the serious nature of the actions of the Terengganu state government. If the federal government is intent on protecting the integrity of the constitution, surely it is within its power to start some form of legal action against the hudud bill and the state government which tabled it?

I, for one, hope that the relevant authorities mentioned would not wait until someone's hand is about to be chopped off or someone is about to be stoned to death before they decide to take any action.

Now that PAS has laid its cards out on the table, it's time for the federal government to show theirs too.