Hudud was a red herring, says Khalid Samad

Hudud was a red herring, says Khalid Samad

'PAS was looking for an excuse to dissociate from DAP because it feared losing Malay votes.'

Khalid Samad

PETALING JAYA:
PAS used hudud as a red herring to give it an excuse to separate itself from the opposition coalition, specifically from DAP, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad alleged yesterday.

Speaking to FMT, Khalid said he believed this explained why PAS had no qualms agreeing with its new ally, Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia, that hudud would not be suitable in Malaysia.

“This is only my personal opinion,” he said. “You should ask PAS to respond, but I think hudud was used only to create friction with DAP and to break up Pakatan Rakyat.”

Noting that Ikatan is headed by a Muslim and a former Umno man, Khalid said this could explain PAS’s willingness to be more flexible in its new relationship.

“They wanted to break up with DAP because they believed they would lose the Malay majority votes if they did not,” he said. “Now, with Ikatan, they believe they’ve found a more suitable partner to help in pushing their Malay Muslim agenda.”

PAS and Ikatan announced their political cooperation in a joint statement released during a function at the Puteri Park Hotel in KL.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.