The implementation of hudud will destroy racial ties in the country as it is not yet understood by all Malaysians, the minister in charge of national unity, Joseph Kurup, warned today.

Speaking to reporters at a round-table discussion on the Islamic penal system, Kurup, who is a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said the nearly two-decade-old initiative by PAS to enforce hudud in Kelantan could still expect to face much resistance.

"Yes, it will affect racial harmony. People will object to what they do not understand.

"And when people object to something they don't understand, this is sure to loosen the close brotherly ties among us in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society, " Kurup told reporters in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

 

He was speaking at the forum organised by Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) Foundation.

The other speakers were Malaysian Bar Council president Christopher Leong ( right ), 1Malaysia Foundation chairperson Chandra Muzaffar, UiTM law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi, besides GMM's CEO Saifuddin Abdullah.

In his speech, Kurup noted that hudud had given rise to voices of "concern and anxiety" from Malaysians who were worried that their current way of life would be affected.

 

"It is only natural to be skeptical of things where the stakes are very high and yet of which very little is known," Kurup said. 

 

He added that Malaysia's multi-ethnic communities were worried that racial tolerance and harmony, the result of "many decades of blood, sweat and tears," might be affected. 

 

Making hudud a reality

Since last month, PAS have been rallying for Umno MPs to back its private members bill in Parliament which would allow the party to make Hudud in Kelantan a reality.

 

This has brought protests from DAP and MCA, who argued that it clashed with Malaysia's constitution, which guaranteed equal rights for all before the law.

 

Kelantan's deputy chief minister Mohd Amar Abdullah was also invited to the GMM talk today but did not attend.

 

Kurup said that he encouraged more discussions on Hudud and this should go beyond the closed Islamic circles.

 

"The purpose of this roundtable is not find who is right or who is wrong. Today, we are here to gain an understanding as much as possible, about the implementation of the hudud Bill from experts in relevant fields, " he said.

 

He added that such discussions will also help the federal-Kelantan joint technical committee, which is undertaking its own study on how the bill can be implemented.

 

PAS has said that it still plans to introduce the private bill sometime in September.

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