by Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, fz.com
PAS must remain consistent and not flip flop on issues that may hurt its electoral support among the Malay community, says Kuala Selangor MP and PAS central committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said his party.
“When we argue, we argue from the Quran and what it says. We argue from the tradition of the Prophet and what it says. It is not whether we are going to be winning or losing votes... It is making it clear first principally, where does it (the argument) stand,” he said during an interview on fz.com's Face to Face programme today.
During the 40-minute session, Dzulkefly answered questions and offered his views about PAS' direction, the party's image and its relationship within Pakatan Rakyat. He spoke at length on the party's stand on the use of the word of "Allah" and also admitted that there was still confusion between the concept of Malay-Islam and Islam-Islam.
Dzulkefly stressed that the party has moved on from its aim to establish an Islamic state but now is bringing the agenda of a “benevolent state”.
“If anything, it is an evolution and progression... I am not quite sure what the people mean by an Islamic state but I think if a truly democratic functional state is in place, you have as well in that situation Islam being the Islamic state,” he said.
On Islamic law, he said PAS would not force it unto non-Muslims and emphasised that the party will only implement syariah laws if given mandate through the ballot box.
“We are truly a bona fide Islamist political party and we will not have any of our policies implemented through the back door,” he said.
When asked if PAS will support PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister should Pakatan comes to power despite party conservatives who are not in favour of the former DPM, he didn't see any reason not to.
“It is the opinion of some. You have to respect the opinion of some section. Isn’t that freedom? To be able express your liking and disliking... you must be allowed to express your opinion. If you pin them down the minute they express (their opinion) ... people would not be brave enough to express their opinion," he said.
“In a democracy, you don’t have 100 per cent support in anything. In democracy, it's about managing differences,” he added.