BY AMIN ISKANDAR, NEWS EDITOR
The Malaysian Insider
April 22, 2014
The deputy president of PAS has come to the defence of the late Karpal Singh amid accusations of insulting Islam hurled at the veteran lawyer following his death in a car accident last week.
Instead, Mohamad Sabu reminded that it was former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had insulted the religion by belittling hudud, or the Shariah punishment for serious crimes, adding that Karpal had never insulted the Islamic laws but merely defended the Federal Constitution.
“I am perplexed why Muslims react this way when it was Muslims themselves who insulted hudud, such as the statement by the former prime minister that if hudud was implemented in Kelantan, many Muslims would lose their limbs,” Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview.
“Karpal had never insulted (hudud). He had only said that it was against the Constitution,” said Mat Sabu. Mat Sabu was referring to comments last week by Dr Mahathir on the plan by PAS to table the Private Members’ Bill on hudud in the Dewan Rakyat.
Dr Mahathir had said Islamic laws should ensure justice and not be geared towards punishing offenders.
“There are Muslims and non-Muslims in our country. If a Muslim steals, his hand will be chopped off but when a non-Muslim steals, he goes to jail. Is that justice or not?” he asked, adding that “Soon, Muslims will have no hands”.
Mat Sabu said he could not understand why Umno leaders who had come out strongly in opposition to PAS’s plan to implement hudud in Kelantan had kept silent over Dr Mahathir’s remarks.
“Why is it that when Muslims insulted hudud, I never heard any sharp comments from Umno leaders and the muftis?” asked Mat Sabu.
Mat Sabu, who together with Karpal and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders spent two years as detainees under the Internal Security Act (ISA) following their arrests in 1987, also slammed several insensitive remarks by politicians in the wake of Karpal’s death, saying they did not reflect Islamic teachings.
“People who are stupid and arrogant still exist,” said Mat Sabu, in referring to Langkawi MP Datuk Nawawi Ahmad’s Facebook posting of pictures from the accident on April 17.
Nawawi, who has since apologised, had asked if anyone would like to walk over Karpal’s dead body, recalling a statement reportedly made by Karpal in 1990 that establishing an Islamic state would only be possible “over my dead body”.
“His early comment shows his thinking even though he has apologised,” Mat Sabu said of Nawawi.
Besides Nawawi, former Kulim Bandar Baru MP Datuk Zulkifli Noordin also posted a remark online following Karpal’s death, saying God had removed the greatest opponent of hudud, and that Umno and PAS should now work together to ensure its implementation in Kelantan.
Karpal, who was DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP, was accorded a Penang state funeral on Sunday.
Tens of thousands paid their last respects at the Dewan Sri Pinang, before his coffin made its way in a large procession passing several landmarks significant in Karpal’s life. – April 22, 2014.
Mahathir more than insulted Hudud – HE GUARANTEED HUDUD WILL BE A DISASTER. The over-entitlement, the corruption, the institutional failures even insitutionalizing hate itself. Mahathir is responsible for the likes of Zul Nordin and Nawawi Ahmad and many many more that will make HUDUD a guaranteed disaster.
Not only Madhater insulted Hudud (I loath hudud anyway), he insulted the rule of law. If only the same can be applied to Madhater, just as it have been applied to Barlow.
Because those retards don’t care much about their god. They are scared stiff over which umno baru big shots they might offend.
And they think people are stupid like them.
Maha-LIAR MMK veri worried dat with hudud implemented, he might b d FIRST 2 lose his hands
“Look ma, NO hands!”
Mat Sabu is right.
Karpal objected because he said hudud is inconsistent with the constitution.
Karpal’s stand is one which is grounded in the law, purely and not religion.
BTW, I support karpal’s stand.
Honestly I like to see hudud implemented just for the sake of seeing the corrupt getting their dues.
But one advice to the hudud lawmakers, make sure that you are willing to go after the big fishes, otherwise you would have to answer for your cowardice.
Decoding the babble. As Mr. Karpal drove Islam to its desired destination, Tun Mahathir’s telemetry sensors detected compromised fuel and put the engine in safe mode.
Seriously, in 2008 Datuk Dr. Haron Din said “PAS will implement hudud once the party takes control of the central government.” Datuk Nik Aziz added that “Pakatan Rakyat will eventually accept the Islamic ideology.” To its credit, PAS has been consistent, if not correct, in its position that Islam will have no traction or relevance without Sharia, its legal code, and that the code is incomplete without ‘Hudud’.
Although the MCA appears to be the only party to openly castigate PAS, when juxtaposed with Tun Mahathir’s call to “make mosques a place for everyone irrespective of ideology or political belief and that we should not be harsh and always talk about the punishment for committing a sin”, it is becoming increasing clear where the real bone of contention lies, in particular for those who voted Pakatan Rakyat to their unprecedented win.
While PKR and DAP are busy deliberating the prospect of forming the Federal government, it is rhetorical to ask if they realize that their partner, who once said they would have no justification to exist if Malaysia was truly Islamic, has now beachheads in Kelantan, Penang, Perak and Selangor.
In essence, PKR and DAP have unwittingly taken on board a crawler not designed to reverse and to allay fears amongst Malaysia’s multi-religious and multi-ethnic fabric, they should set aside partisanship and openly castigate their ‘offending’ partner, isolate them if necessary, for betraying the trust of the non-muslims and moderates who voted them in.
what a loss. same scale as the loss of gandhi to the indians back in 1947. a light has gone but in its place will be enlightment that will illuminate all our lives . the grief is real and the sadness profound as if we, all of us have lost our own beloved father, brother and mentor. his death will create a divine force and a rallying call for malaysians to say enough is enough and take back our beloved nation from the evil marauders. jangan main-main. the king is dead. long live the karpals of malaysia.
All true BUT it is also Mahathir that made the Article 121(1a) that will make Hudud possible in the first place. He is the PRIMARY PERPETRATOR for making it happen and the disaster it will end up to be.
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Problem is it take only minor percentage extremist to raise and extent it slowly cover non-muslim in times
When it happen anyone against it extremist can comment they against GOD …sentence will be…..
see the problem!
It have two side beauty and ugly
Do not let people use beauty cause overlook the ugly side