Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim believes that the Terengganu PAS Government will not enforce the hudud law in the state in the near future.

This was because their strategy was to divert the people's attention from the question of providing for their needs and ensuring their welfare, he was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.

"I believe hudud law will not be implemented straight away and PAS is pondering as to what excuse to give for not implementing it," he said after attending a dinner organised by the Dungun and Kemaman divisions in Terengganu last night.

Rais, who is also an Umno Supreme Councillor, said Terengganu PAS did not draw up the actual hudud law and was not serious in enforcing it as they did not make adequate preparations for the purpose.

Choose right path

Implementing such a law needed sound infrastructure and its basis of enforcement should be clear and all should be bound by it, Rais said. The PAS hudud law did not cover non-Muslims whereas the original hudud law was applicable to all communities for during the time of the Nabi the Jews were also subjected to it, he said.

Hence Rais wanted the people to choose the right path for if laws were made they should be implemented and if postponed then it became a joke. The people in Terengganu would not give their political verdict on the PAS government based on the hudud law rather on whether they were economically better off under its administration, he said.

The Terengganu Legislature passed the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Hudud and Qisas) on July 8.