Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has failed to shed light on when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would make BN’s stand known on the hudud bill.

Terming it as a "delicate" issue, he told journalists to refer the matter to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also BN chairperson.

"I think we want to ensure the final position of BN not only reflects the views within BN but also takes into consideration that the federal constitution is supreme and that Islam is the religion of the federation.

"This is a delicate matter but we must be guided by the fact that the constitution is supreme," he said after launching the countdown to the country's first National Sports Day.

Najib was also present at the event but did not hold a press conference.

BN component leaders who last Thursday pledged support for Najib had expected an official statement from the BN chairperson the following day but it never materialised.

Political parties from both side of the divide have been forced to declare their stance after PAS pushed ahead with hudud implementation in Kelantan.

The PAS-controlled Kelantan state assembly last Thursday approved updates to the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (II) 1993 which form the basis of hudud.

Concurrently, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang also informed Parliament on March 18 that he will table a private member’s bill to allow for the implementation of hudud.

PKR, which has usually kept an ambiguous stance on hudud, last Saturday joined DAP in declaring that it will not support Abdul Hadi’s private member’s bill.

BN component parties with the exception of Umno have also expressed opposition to the theocratic law.

However, BN has yet to come up with an official position as top Umno leaders are supportive of PAS’ efforts.

Senior Umno leader and Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz has branded the hudud debate “stupid” and called it an “impossibility” to implement.