DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has welcomed Parti Amanah Rakyat’s (Amanah) statement that it would consult with its future coalition partners on the hudud issue.

“I think it is the right decision. If Amanah is part of a coalition group - whether Pakatan Rakyat 2, New Pakatan Rakyat, or whatever it is - and the Pakatan Rakyat 2 has a common policy framework where hudud is not the common policy programme, then is should not be pursued.

“In fact, this was the position of (the previous) Pakatan Rakyat,” he told a press conference at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said this when asked to respond to Amanah chairperson Mohamad Sabu’s who said Amanah would consult with its future coalition partners to reach a consensus on the hudud issue before voting on it should the matter be tabled in Parliament.

"Any bill must be discussed in a democratic manner, through consultations and must take into account the country's constitution.

"Consensus is needed among parties in Pakatan Rakyat 2.0 if the issue arises in the future," said the leader of the PAS splinter party in a statement.

Quite a commitment

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had previously submitted a private member’s bill to the Dewan Rakyat proposing amendments that would enable the implementation of hudud law.

The motion was never tabled in parliament, as there is no time left for parliament to discuss private member’s bills by the time government business is dealt with.

Nevertheless, the move resulted in a split in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition especially between DAP and PAS, eventually leading to the coalition’s dissolution.

Meanwhile, to a question whether Mohamad’s statement showed a fear of making a commitment on the hudud issue, Lim disagreed.

"I thought that was quite a commitment," he said.