Pointless to resign at this stage of the hudud bill process: BN party leaders

PETALING JAYA: Leaders of Barisan Nasional component parties who had earlier said they would resign their Cabinet positions if the hudud bill was passed said it would be pointless if they did so at this stage.
Several of the leaders who did not want to be named said they needed to be present in the Dewan Rakyat to oppose the Private Member's Bill as it went through its stages in the house.
"If we resign now, we will not have any platform to further object the bill," said one of the leaders when contacted.
Last Thursday, PAS president and Marang MP, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang tabled the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 in the Dewan Rakyat.
Following the tabling, several leaders of BN component parties, including the MCA, MIC and Gerakan presidents had threatened to resign if the bill is passed.
In a letter to theSun, a reader, Ravinder Singh had highlighted that it would be pointless in debating the bill, then seeing it get passed and then resign.
He claimed their threats was only good for political mileage.
Meanwhile, Umno information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the BN leadership was yet to make a collective decision for its members to vote on the bill.
He said MPs were free to vote according to their conscience on the bill and could support, reject or abstain from voting on it.
"BN members can vote according to their conscience because it is a Private Member's Bill, not a government bill," he said.
Malay Consultative Council (MPM) secretary-general Datuk Dr Hasan Mad told Bernama that all relevant Islamic institutions have been urged to provide information in an integrated and continuous manner to the target groups regarding the bill.
He said the campaign should be carried out by institutions such as the Islamic religious councils, Islamic religious departments, Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim), and the International Islamic University (UIA), using simple language to enable the people to understand the bill.
"Portray to them that Islam is universal, and does not discriminate against any race or adherents of any religion. For example, the involvement of non-Muslims in the halal industry. They have never been denied the right to get involved.
"Similarly, (they have also been allowed to be involved) in Islamic banking, in fact, non-Muslim students have also been provided opportunities to study at Islamic institutions, such as UIA.
"This is among the proof of how universal Islam is, while giving due respect to other religions and ideologies," he said in a statement.