Malaysian opposition party warns Islamic allyKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (AFP) - A Chinese-dominated party Saturday warned an Islamic ally not to restrict the rights of non-Muslims in two northern Malaysian states, saying the future of a nascent opposition alliance hangs in the balance."We are making our position very clear -- their implementation of policies which affect the rights of non-Muslims will be taken into consideration (for future cooperation)," the Democratic Action Party's (DAP) secretary general, Kerk Kim Hock, told AFP. He was referring to the Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS), which controls the states of Kelantan and Terengganu. The two parties, along with the new National Justice Party (Keadilan), and the Malaysian People's Party, form the country's first formal opposition alliance, the Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front). However, Kerk said in a statement the question of the DAP pulling out of the alliance "does not arise at the moment." A spokesman for Keadilan, which is headed by the wife of jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, said Alternative Front leaders would consider a proposal to form a coalition at a meeting on Wednesday. Wan Azizah said non-Muslims in Terengganu had nothing to fear from their new Islamic rulers. Plans to curb gambling and sales of alcoholic in the state would not affect them, she said. The Alternative Front entered parliamentary and state assembly elections with high hopes of ending the National Front's two-thirds parliamentary majority and curbing its 42 years of political domination. The ruling coalition kept its two-thirds majority, but lost 18 parliamentary seats. The PAS kept control of the Kelantan state assembly and also captured neighbouring Terengganu. The Islamic party, rather than its secular opposition allies, was the main beneficiary of a protest vote by ethnic Malays. It more than tripled its parliamentary seats to 27. The DAP won just 10 seats, while Keadilan took five. The Malaysian People's Party failed to win any seats. The National Front told Chinese voters that a vote for the DAP was a vote for what it said was PAS's ultimate goal of making multiracial Malaysia an Islamic state -- a scary prospect for non-Muslims. The new DAP chairman, Lim Kit Siang, on Saturday repeated his prediction the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the National Front's dominant party, would compete with the PAS to win back the Malay heartland "with a spiral of Islamisation policies threatening Malaysia's democratic secular state." In a statement he cited an announcement by the ruling party's state government in Selangor that new assembly members would be barred from a swearing-in ceremony unless they wore traditional Malay headgear. Terengganu's new PAS chief minister, Abdul Hadi Awang, told AFP Wednesday his government would implement Islamic principles, including banning gambling and curbing alcohol sales. Senior DAP adviser Chen Man Hin was quoted by the Sun as saying his party would stay in the Alternative Front, but that members must abide by their election manifesto, which does not mention an Islamic state. Chen said the PAS must clarify its stand on hudud Islamic laws and values since the DAP had lost Chinese votes over the issue. "They (voters) were under the wrong impression that their hands will be chopped if they commit robbery or that they will not be allowed to practise their religion freely," Chen was quoted as saying. |
