He said Shabudin should also seek out ulama and religious experts to study his remarks to see whether what he had said was within the confines of Islamic family laws.
It was “desperate, dishonest and despicable” to Islamic family law for Shabudin to use it to “shield” himself from criticism on the matter, Lim told reporters at the Penang Digital Library today.
He said it was also not right for Shabudin to ask his (Lim’s) stance on the state Islamic family law as he was not Muslim and did not have the expertise on the matter.
He said Shabudin, who claimed to be an expert in Islamic law, should also do the explaining.
Earlier today, Shabudin had demanded that Lim state his stand on the Islamic Family Law (State of Penang) Enactment 2004, which provides for underage marriage for Muslims.
He said the planned motion at the Penang State Assembly to condemn him for his remarks, as announced by Lim on April 7, could be construed as being against Islamic family law.
Lim, who is the DAP’s Air Putih assemblyman, reiterated that the motion had nothing to do with Islam.
“We were attacking Shabudin, not attacking Islam. So don’t go and twist it, spin it, to get yourself out of trouble,” he said, calling Shabudin “a person who has no moral bearing and he is clutching at straws”.
Lim added that the state executive council had unanimously agreed that the motion be proposed at the assembly session next month.
Shabudin was reported to have told the Dewan Rakyat on April 4 that it was not wrong for a girl to get married to her rapist.
The former Penang State Islamic Council president was reported to have said it would be good for the girl as she would otherwise face a bleak future.
He also said some 16-year-old girls had “wild lifestyles” and their families found it hard to control them.
However, in a statement on April 5, Shabudin claimed he had been quoted out of context and that he had said the child could not be married off by her wali (guardian) without the permission of the Shariah Court.
Shabudin: Hold on! My rapist remarks have been taken out of context