“PAS must not confuse personal religious practices in a private domain with forcing the intrusion of faith unto the public sphere,” said Ng in a statement today, referring to PAS’ current push for the private member’s bill to amend shariah laws.

Tuan Ibrahim had earlier been reported to have criticised the Taoist practice of burning hell notes.

“Imagine, if there was a party that wants to ban the burning of anything, including the cremation of remains, for environmental reasons, can this happen?” he had asked.

He had also defended the push for hudud by saying that it was a matter of “freedom to practice one’s beliefs”.

Ng said that there was a clear difference between Taoist religious practices and hudud, since the former constitutes a matter of personal choice.

Hudud, he said, was instead an intrusion of faith-based criminal codes into the public sphere and judiciary.

Ng criticised Tuan Ibrahim for having the “temerity to provoke the Taoist community” in the midst of the current controversy roiling around hudud.

“Taoists are peace-loving adherents and are much wiser than to fall into Tuan Ibrahim’s snare of igniting conflict between Muslims and Taoists,” Ng said.

Ng defended the burning of hell notes as only being done on special occasions, such as death anniversaries.

He said that contrary to Tuan Ibrahim’s beliefs, the burning is carried out within the premises of one’s own home or temple or at the cemetery.

“Non-Muslims do not simply torch the remains of loved ones in public but conduct the cremation respectfully, enclosed indoors at a modern crematorium which must have fulfilled construction and environment conditions and regulations set forth by federal ministries, state and local authorities before they are allowed to operate,” Ng explained.

“The conditions of the crematorium are clean and hygienic and not as if the ashes of the remains are fluttering all over the air and polluting the environment.”