Wee: Only one set of laws for all

SHAH ALAM: Malaysia cannot afford to have two sets of legal system as it will threaten the social fabric of the nation, said MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.

He said present laws under the Federal Constitution were fair and just to all Malaysians while it protects and takes consideration of Islamic matters.

“We must have only one set of laws for all Malaysians and MCA will continue to uphold the Federal Constitution,” he said at a forum titled Hudud: Bersediakah Kita?, organised by Karang Kraf here yesterday.

He said the Private Member’s Bill that PAS planned to table in Parliament was “unconstitutional and not suitable for a multi-racial country”.

Answering a question from the floor on what MCA will do if Umno MPs support the Bill, which will pave the way for PAS’ hudud in Kelantan, Wee said: “We will sit and discuss with our partners to review our position within the Barisan Nasional coalition.”

Open talks: Wee (right) attending the forum alongside (from left) moderator Dr Maszlee Malik and panel members Asri, Amar and Dr Mushaddad Hasbullah.

He said MCA would bring up the matter to the Barisan supreme council, adding that MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had also voiced his disagreement over the issue during a private discussion with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah, who heads the state hudud technical committee, defended the state government’s stance and said it wanted only for the Islamic enactment to be part of the country’s laws.

“Although we did not mention it specifically in our election manifesto, the idea had been agreed upon even before we joined Pakatan Rakyat. It is fair for Muslims to be tried dif­ferently under hudud as they embraced Islam by choice and must fully accept the Islamic jurisdiction as a whole,” he said.

Former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Asri Zainul Abidin told the forum it was not the right time to introduce PAS’ hudud in Malaysia as it did not have the conducive environment to make it just for all.

“As a Muslim, I am not against hudud but we must look at whether the laws can be implemented fairly,” he said.