Umno's model of an Islamic state is invalid as it does not fulfill the Islamic criteria nor uses the religion as the "ultimate source of legislation", said PAS president Fadzil Noor today.

"Umno is just trying to cheat Muslims by claiming that Malaysia is an Islamic country. They are doing this because many people these days like our party which struggles for a true Islamic state," he told malaysiakini .

Fadzil was responding to Umno president and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's remark yesterday that Malaysia is already an Islamic state even though it does not implement hudud law, which deals specifically with criminal punishment.

PAS has previously intimated the possibility of implementing hudud laws in Kelantan. It has also repeatedly stressed that it is not "fanatical, extreme or radical" as claimed by the government.

Fadzil said PAS targets more than just the hudud which is one of the many branches of the entire Islamic Law ( shariah ).

"It is not about hudud alone, we want the government to amend the constitution to state clearly that Islam is the ultimate source of legislation which will be referred to (in legislative matters) in the future," he said.

Currently, Muslims are subjected to the shariah law on matters relating to family, inheritance and sexual misconduct such as incest and promiscuity. However, criminal acts are prosecuted under the Penal Code.

While admitting that hudud is inseparable from shariah , certain Muslim scholars noted that the criminal law cannot be implemented wholly unless Malaysians accept it as the law of the land and are willing to amend the constitution.

Malays and indigenous peoples constitute 58 percent of the country's population, leaving the Chinese as the second largest ethnic group at 26 percent, followed by Indians at eight percent and others, seven percent.

Roadside show

Asked if PAS envisaged an Islamic law - covering both civil and criminal cases - to be extended to non-Muslims, Fadzil said, "We have to see how it goes."

He challenged Mahathir to raise the Islamic state issue in parliament so that they can debate about it in a proper manner.

"This is not some roadside show where you can simply say we are living in an Islamic state when it is not put to test," said Fadzil who is the parliamentary opposition leader.

Although PAS has given its assurance that it only wants to promote governance based on Islamic teachings, the party's long-term goal of establishing an Islamic state has driven away non-Muslim voters, claimed many who oppose it.

PAS deputy president Abdul Hadi Awang who is also Terengganu Mentri Besar was previously quoted as saying that once an Islamic state is established, non-Muslims will be subjected to Islamic laws involving public interests although there will be exceptions for certain areas.

Recently, the Chinese-based DAP pulled out of the Barisan Alternatif, citing the failure to resolve the matter with its former ally PAS.

Democracy best for all

Meanwhile, Fadzil denied that PAS views democracy as "un-Islamic" and stressed that the party will continue to uphold democratic practices.

"Democracy can be accepted by all Muslim groups, even in Pakistan, Turkey and Algeria," he said.

"It is still the best form of political system for all because it gives freedom and rights to people to make decisions," he added.

According to a Bernama report last Friday, Mahathir said the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM) members were all from PAS.

The premier claimed that PAS did not believe in democracy and therefore militancy was the only way for it to secure power.

Last month, police arrested 10 people, mostly PAS members who were allegedly responsible for the bombing of a church and a temple, a spate of bank robberies, and the assassination of a politician. Among those detained was the son of PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

However, Fadzil added that "democracy can contradict with Islam" in certain cases as the former permits too much individual freedom and the latter gives more consideration to collective interests.

"For example, in the United States, people can choose to become homosexuals on the pretext of freedom but this is forbidden in Islam," he said.

It is therefore important to strike a balance between individual freedom and community interests, he added.