DAP says not at war with PAS over ‘Muslim ban’

DAP said the dispute over the MPSJ ruling was about local council authority and not the syariah enactment. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — DAP has denied it was on a collision course with PAS in the current Selangor “Muslim ban” debacle, saying it had never questioned the state’s Syariah laws. DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said the main point of contention in the debacle was whether local councils was the right authority to enforce the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment, which bans Muslims from working at premises selling alcohol.
DAP, he clarified, had never disputed the enactment itself.
“The main point, as made by the mentri besar, is whether the local authorities should be enforcing the enactment or whether Jais (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) should do it.
“No one is questioning the enactment itself,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
Lim said DAP believed that in matters governing the Islamic religion, enforcement should not come under the jurisdiction of the local councils.
“We do not think that the council should be enforcing the enactment. So once this is resolved, there is no longer any need for the dispute,” he said.
When asked if he agreed with the enactment and that Muslims should be banned from such working environments, Lim declined further comment.
“I think let us leave it at that. As I said, the dispute is not on the enactment but on the authority enforcing it,” he said.

Pua conceded that a clash could still occur.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua agreed with Lim, adding that there was no argument over whether DAP had again clashed with its Islamist partner PAS in the Pakatan Rakyat pact. “Yes, there is an issue of potential dispute here but there is no truth in saying we are on a collision course.
“It is an overstatement and an exaggeration. This issue cropped up before but despite this, it did not create a fallout between PAS and DAP,” he said.
Pua added that, similarly, the present debacle had not created any animosity within the Selangor PR government, helmed by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim of PKR.
“This proves the lack of the severity of the matter, and despite what certain parties and individuals are trying to say, it is not going to affect ties between us in the coalition.
“This is just something that has to be resolved and ironed out — it is not a fight between PAS and DAP,” he said.
Early last week, it was reported that the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) had decided to revoke the licences of businesses found to be violating the enactment.
Selangor state executive councillor Ronnie Liu later called for a withdrawal on the ban.
Talk is rife that the Selangor government was split on the issue as Liu’s PAS colleague in the council, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, had allegedly disagreed with the withdrawal.
But Liu has maintained that the “entire” Selangor executive council had agreed to withdraw the ruling pending further studies on the matter.
Liu has also said that the state government’s disagreement on the matter was sending a “strong” message to local councils to “think before you act.”
Additionally, the Selangor state government had also announced last Friday that it would set up a special fund to help Muslim workers who are forced to resign from entertainment outlets serving alcohol, to ensure smooth implementation of the syariah enactment.
Khalid had said that four executive councillors —Hasan, Yaakob Sapari, Dr Halimah Ali and Rodziah Ismail — would meet the Selangor Zakat Authority to discuss the plan.
Khalid had told a news conference that the ban was merely a guideline but added that the enactment could be enforced by Jais.
For local councils to enforce such a ruling, however, he said permission first need to be obtained via an agreement from the state executive council.
After meeting with all local council heads, the Selangor MB said the state government has decided to conduct a study on whether MPSJ should implement the guideline as a by-law.
Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia has given extensive coverage to the debacle, claiming the row was a clear example of how PAS and DAP would always clash in its beliefs on matters involving Islam.
The daily has also pointed how both parties were often at loggerheads over the formation of an Islamic state should the opposition claim Putrajaya.
The parties’ continued disputes, said the daily, indicated cracks in the PR pact.
Pua insisted the accusations against PAS and DAP were inaccurate, particularly in the “Muslim ban” issue as the conflict was on which authority should be given the right to enforce the Syariah enactment.
“The issue here is whether the local council overstepped its boundary by making decisions without going through the relevant channels,” he said.
DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke told The Malaysian Insider that the DAP and PAS were not at a crossroads on the matter but admitted that individuals from both parties had differing views.
“But to say that the parties are on a collision course, this is not true. Of course, some PAS leaders have a narrow interpretation on things like these but even then, I do not think there is a consensus within PAS itself on how to address these matters.
“Some may have their own interpretation and may want to push their own agenda but as a coalition government, all parties need to sit and discuss things before anything can happen,” he said.
He pointed out that although Kedah was headed by a PAS mentri besar, no such ruling was enforced in the state.
“I am sure there are Malays working in such premises there... what about Langkawi? So this whole talk about us fighting over this issue is just a perception created by Umno.
“On the one hand, they are trying to paint a picture that PAS is losing out in Pakatan Rakyat because of DAP, while on the other hand, they are saying that PAS is trying to implement the Islamic state and DAP is losing out,” he said.