by Looi Sue-Chern The Malaysian Insider MAY 06, 2014
A PAS leader yesterday sought to heal the tension between DAP and the Islamist party over the hudud issue when he said that the late Karpal Singh, although strongly opposed to hudud, was never anti-Islam.
Speaking at a memorial service for the late Karpal at the Han Chiang High School in Penang last night, PAS lawmaker Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa said the former DAP chairman always stood by his principles in objecting to the implementation of hudud and the setting up of an Islamic state.
“But he (Karpal) was never a man who was anti-Islam,” Mujahid said.
He said Karpal had declared that he had always respected the position of Islam as the official religion of the federation in front of all PAS and Pakatan Rakyat leaders, despite his controversial “over my dead body” statement against the setting up of an Islamic state.
“In an interview, Karpal had said he was never against Islam, and was a God-fearing man,” he said, adding that as a man of the legal fraternity, Karpal’s position and interest were more towards preserving and defending the Constitution when he objected to an Islamic state.
“Understanding Karpal is to understand him as a legal man, not as someone who was anti-religion.”
Mujahid said a person who was anti-religion would be driven by hatred towards everything religious, including the position of Islam as the official religion of the federation.
He said Karpal also respected PAS, relating a meeting between Karpal and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat in January last year.
The meeting was at Karpal’s Jalan Utama home in Penang where Karpal presented Nik Aziz with a cake to mark his 82nd birthday.
Mujahid said there was “cordial warmth” between the two leaders, despite their completely opposing views on hudud and an Islamic state.
He said PAS respected the right to disagree while Karpal always had a positive stand on PAS.
“His own words proved his sentiments. When once asked about PAS, Karpal said: ‘We may have our differences but PAS is a solid-principled party and it remains an important ally to DAP.”
Mujahid said Karpal lived up to the Malay idiom “harimau mati tinggalkan belang, manusia mati tinggalkan nama” (a tiger dies leaving its stripes, a man dies leaving his name). – May 6, 2014.