Bagan PAS chief Md Yusoff Khazali said he hoped the party’s central leadership would take serious consideration of the motion passed yesterday at the division’s annual general meeting.
He said it was imperative that the Council of Rulers intervened for the sake of Muslims in Penang.
“We hope the muktamar will see this as a national issue and treat it accordingly,” Yusoff said in a statement today.
PAS had recently accused the Penang government of usurping the authority of the king and the fatwa committee by allegedly meddling in fatwa decisions.
It claimed the state government had asked that all fatwa go through the state executive council, chaired by the chief minister, before they are sent to the king for royal assent.
Under normal circumstances, PAS said, all fatwa decided by the fatwa committee were sent directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for assent.
Penang mufti and state fatwa committee chair Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor had denied that the state exco or chief minister blocked fatwa, saying fatwa decisions were brought to the state executive council for the purpose of notification.
Fatwa committee member Saleh Ahmad, however, has backed PAS, telling the state to stay out of matters concerning fatwa. Saleh is brother of former Penang mufti Hassan Ahmad.
The issue of interference goes back to 2010 and the fatwa to bar non-Muslims from using 40 words, including “Allah”. The fatwa was later gazetted as state law under the Penang Islamic Administration Enactment.