Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said Umno should not back PAS' hudud push simply for the sake of securing the Malay-Muslim vote.

"Umno also thinks about politics (this way): if I don't support, then I don't get support from Muslims. This is wrong.

"The present hudud is wrong and cannot be applied in Malaysia because we have a multi-religious population," he told a dialogue with students in Cyberjaya today.

Mahathir also criticised Kelantan Umno for supporting PAS' hudud push in the state ( left ), which he described as "unIslamic".

"The people in Kelantan Umno who supported this don't even know what they are supporting," he said.

Mahathir pointed out that the Quran had 43 mentions that judgements must be done fairly and PAS' move to confine hudud only to Muslims is unjust.

The former premier also drew the example of author and political activist Kassim Ahmad, who was last year charged at the syariah courts for insulting Islam and accused of rejecting the hadith (Prophet Muhammad's sayings), stating that the same words about being just was written in the background behind the judge's seat.

Stoning out of sync with mercy in Islam

"They (PAS) do not follow the Quran; they want to follow the hadith. Stoning people (in PAS' hudud law) is not in the Quran.

"It may be in the Hebrew Torah or in the Bible but it is not an Islamic thing.

"Even in the hadith, there are only two cases where people were stoned to death and they were unique cases," said Mahathir.

He added that people would be at their best if they were to abide by the Quran.

Mahathir said that Islam was a merciful and compassionate religion and stoning people to death did not fit in with those values.

Furthermore, Mahathir said PAS' intention to introduce hudud is not for Islam but to bolster its political standing by appearing more Islamic than Umno.

"That is why during my time (as prime minister), when this cropped up, I said this is not Islam.

"You are making use of Islam for political reasons," he said.

Mahathir said if common law could uphold justice for all Muslims and non-Muslims, then it would have fulfilled the message of Islam to be just.

Furthermore, he said family law matters have already been placed under the syariah courts.