PAS today demanded that Chinese-language daily Sin Chew Jit Poh publish the denial made by party deputy president Mohamad Sabu over his alleged statement on hudud on its front page.
Party election director Dr Hatta Ramli said that this is because the daily's front page article quoting Mohamad - better known as Mat Sabu ( right ) - today can confuse the rakyat.
"I hope Mat Sabu's denial will be carried by the same newspaper on the same front page in the next edition," he told reporters after the Pakatan Rakyat secretariat meeting.
However, he said an apology would not be necessary.
Sin Chew today quoted Mat Sabu as saying that PAS will push for a constitutional amendment in order to implement the hudud law, should Pakatan come into power.
Mat Sabu has since denied the statement, adding that the law can only be implemented with the majority support of members of parliament.
Hatta, who is also Kuala Krai MP, further slammed the daily's deputy editor-in-chief Tay Tian Yan who predicted that PAS will cooperate with Umno after Pakatan comes into power - purportedly in 2014.
“Over my dead body (will PAS cooperate with Umno) and I share this view with (PAS spiritual leader) Nik Aziz Nik Mat,” he said, chiding Tay for having a “fertile imagination”.
“One good thing is that the writer said that Pakatan will be the government of the day.”
However, when asked, Hatta fell short of giving an outright guarantee that Pakatan will not push for a constitutional amendment to make way for hudud if the opposition comes into power.
“We have a common policy and we will remain there,” he said.
'A failed trap'
Supporting him, DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke said that PAS is not the only opposition party alleged to harbour desires to join hands with Umno.
“(MCA president Dr) Chua Soi Lek said DAP will cooperate with Umno to replace MCA in (Barisan National) BN. I too can say this - over my dead body.
“The fact is, the cooperation is among DAP, PAS and PKR and none of us have the desire to work with Umno. They're full of themselves to think that everyone wants to work with Umno,” he said.
Meanwhile, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said that the constant harping on hudud is a “failed trap” by Umno and BN who continue to attack on the old strategy of “race, religion and royalty”.
“Pakatan is inviting people to consider a new government based on more competent policies...but BN can only talk of hudud, hudud, hudud...,” he said.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua added that a similar pattern of attack was also waged against the DAP, only that time it was by a Malay-language newspaper.
“ Utusan reported that DAP intends to change the constitution to turn the country into a Christian country. Now Sin Chew says PAS wants to change the constitution to implement hudud,” he said, chuckling.
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