Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today accused PAS of arrogance over a plan to enact strict Islamic law in Terengganu.

Opposition party PAS has announced it will introduce syariah criminal law in the state next month, defying a requirement to first refer the bill to the attorney general's office.

Terengganu menteri besar Abdul Hadi Awang said he believed his responsibility towards God took precedence over fufilling the attorney general's requests.

But Abdullah told the official Bernama news agency: "This (requirement) is not a legal consideration, it is the law.

"Yes, for us God is foremost, but there are laws in this world ... if there were no laws, the people would be more chaotic."

PAS, which took control of Terengganu in 1999 elections, has already banned gambling, and wants to ban bikinis from its beaches. It has limited the sale of alcohol and announced it will stop using women and other "hedonistic influences" in its tourism campaigns.

The party previously tried to introduce syariah law, including amputation of limbs for theft, in a second state under its control - Kelantan, where it took power in 1990.

Strong protest

However, the national government which controls the criminal code in this federation of 13 states has refused to sanction its use.

Women's groups have also strongly opposed the proposed Terengganu law, which stipulates that a rape victim who fails to produce proof of the crime would instead be found quilty of adultery and face a punishment of 80 strokes of the whip.

Women's affairs minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil on Thursday called for the withdrawal of all clauses and provisions in the bill that were "clearly and absolutely disgraceful to women".