Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants non-Muslims to pressure Umno not to implement hudud. This is in response to the decision by PAS not to table the Private Member's Bill on hudud in the sitting of Parliament next month.

"Pressure Umno hard, if not harder than PAS, to not implement hudud on Muslims in Kelantan," Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general in his Wesak Day speech today.

Lim declared that PAS unexpectedly gave this year Wesak’s Day celebrations a lift with the announcement by its deputy president Mohamad Sabu that PAS will not table the Bill.

Mat Sabu ( right ), in reading out a statement from party president Abdul Hadi Awang at a press conference on Sunday, said PAS would allow a joint technical committee comprising PAS and Umno leaders to make recommendations and take further action.

Lim said non-Muslims would now have time to pressure Umno, as no action would be taken until the committee has had time to study the implementation of hudud.

"Pressure must be applied by non-Muslims on Umno because Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom started the whole controversy by instigating PAS in Parliament on March 27 to implement hudud on Muslims in Kelantan," he added.

Jamil had then said that “the federal government will be ready to work with any state government that is ready to implement hudud, including Kelantan, because Umno Kelantan assemblypersons had supported the passing of Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II to implement hudud in 1993”.

'Umno trying to entrap PAS'

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had then followed up by proposing the formation of the technical committee between the Kelantan government and BN federal government to implement hudud in Kelantan, to which PAS agreed.

"Clearly, Umno is the aggressor in trying to entrap PAS to implement hudud as an attempt to break up Pakatan because of DAP’s strong opposition to implementing hudud in Kelantan as it is unconstitutional," Lim said.

"Non-Muslim organisations should pressure Umno more than PAS because only Umno, and Umno alone, shall determine the success or failure of PAS' attempt to implement hudud in Kelantan.

"As Umno controls the largest number of MPs (88) in Parliament, it is only logical that Umno must be convinced not to support PAS in implementing hudud in Kelantan," he said.

Lim said non-Muslim organisations must not blindly follow the "dishonest tactics" of MCA and Gerakan in only opposing PAS, and not Umno, in the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.

By continuing to pressure only PAS, and not Umno, these non-Muslim organisations were "not sincere" in opposing hudud but were revealing their real political colours through their support for MCA, Gerakan, Umno and the BN, he added.