Hudud issue not a concern in KT

A recent survey conducted by the Merdeka Centre revealed that only a small number of voters in Kuala Terengganu considered the implementation of hudud law an important issue.

Of the 408 Malay and 119 Chinese voters polled, only 19 percent and 18 percent of the respective respondents agreed that the hudud issue was 'very important'.

Twenty-two percent of Malay voters and 32 percent of Chinese voters respectively regarded the hudud issue 'somewhat important'.

Another 46 percent of the Malays and 42 percent of Chinese surveyed felt that the issue was 'somewhat not important' or 'not important at all'.

Among the Chinese surveyed, only 40 percent considered the implementation of hudud law 'a serious matter to be considered'.

Another 37 percent believe that the issue was 'being exploited by the media to deter Chinese voters from supporting the opposition party'.

Th e issue has spread since Dec 20 when PAS started a firestorm with its vice-president Husam Musa announcing that the party would implement hudud law if Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government.

The statement drew criticism from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan ally DAP, with Ipoh Timor parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang reiterating that hudud law was not a Pakatan policy .

PAS slammed for being irresponsible

MCA Youth has submitted a memorandum to the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur in protest .

MIC president S Samy Vellu has slammed PAS for being irresponsible and neglecting the sensitivities of non-Muslims, while Gerakan urged Malaysians to stand united to oppose the intention of PAS to create a theocratic state.

However, PAS has since clarified that hudud law will only apply to Muslims, a position that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has also adopted.

Another issue of concern listed in the survey was the outlook of the identified ethnic groups on the Terengganu government undertakings on the economy, religion and human rights.

Twenty-nine percent of Malay voters stated that upholding the position of Islam should be the state government's main focus.

Only one percent of the Chinese agreed with this.

'Treat non-Malays equally'

In a reverse development, 53 percent of the Chinese voters said the state should be focused on “treating non-Malays equally” while only one percent of the Malays felt it was necessary.

The survey was carried out by telephone interviews between Jan 7 and Jan 11 to gauge voter perceptions on current issues and developments surrounding the by-election which will be concluded on Saturday.

Below are responses from political analysts on the deductions of the survey.

James Chin, political science professor of Monash University Malaysia

The reason why hudud is not a main concern in Kuala Terengganu is because the law will not be implemented regardless of the result of a by-election.

This can only be done through a change in the federal constitution, and the addition or deduction of a Pakatan Rakyat seat in Parliament is not going to affect the constitution.

Another reason is that the issue has been oversold by both the ruling coalition and the opposition. The media hype is merely a reflection of the actions of politicians.

I am not surprised with the (survey) results. It merely reinforces what we already know about the political situation in Malaysia.

For the Malays in Kuala Terengganu, the position of Islam has always been a major issue, while the Chinese have not been satisfied with the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and treatment of non-Malays.

Khoo Kay Peng, independent political analyst

The Chinese in Kuala Terengganu, unlike those in the west coast, are not intimidated by any plans to implement hudud law.

They interact with Malays on a daily basis and are well-versed with the Islamic way of life.

The way the survey has been constructed gives a false impression that Malays are not concerned with the rights of non-Malays.

Since the survey merely asked respondents to name the single most important issue, it is understandable that the Malays will name the upholding of Islam.

However, if they had been asked whether equal treatment of non-Malays would be important as well, I am sure a huge number would have said 'yes'.