Women's groups call for Pas reps to retract oath

2009/11/10

By Shuhada Elis

PETALING JAYA: Pas elected representatives who took the "oath of loyalty" must retract their oath and apologise to the women in the country, particularly to their wives.

Two influential women's groups in the country -- the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) and the All Women's Action Society (Awam) -- made the call to Pas faithfuls yesterday, describing the oath as insulting, outrageous and disrespectful to women.

WAO president Meera Samanther said there could never be adequate justification to the oath, as matrimonial relationship and loyalty to politics were two different issues.

"It is ridiculous that they equate those two and take it out of the context by comparing what they do with the Prophet. Religion has no part in politics."

Samanther said the oath was an insult to women, and whoever pronounced it should make an open apology.

WAO executive director Ivy Josiah said the oath was a twisted form of the representatives' show of loyalty to the party.

"It shows disrespect to women and to the wives. If they want to give up the party, why don't they give up their money, car or home, for example.

"But at the end of the day, they forgot that everyone has the right to choose, to leave or switch the party."

She added that the oath was a threat to the wives, and Pas representatives should retract their oath immediately.

Josiah said elected representatives have duties and responsibilities to voters and should remember that their actions would have an impact on people.

Awam senior programme officer Abigail De Vries said if the oath was merely to show their loyalty to the party, then it would not be effective.

"I think they have problems if they think it shows loyalty within their ranks. It is ridiculous for a party in contemporary times to resort to such tactic."

Social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir said she did not see the move as a threat to the representatives' wives but more of being loyal to the party and marriage.

"I think it is a serious commitment for them and the main intention is to show their loyalty. But I'll be more impressed if they promise not to take another wife if they decide to leave the party," she said in jest.

She said the oath sounded "very heavy" and the representatives had shown that they would not take things lightly.

"They are putting the most precious thing on the block to show that this is their biggest sacrifice for the party."

Pas Shah Alam member of parliament Khalid Samad had said that Pas elected representatives in Selangor were made to take the oath which required them to divorce their wives if they decided to quit or jump to another party.

However, party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was unaware of the existence of such an oath. Hadi has promised an in-depth investigations into the matter and said that the party's highest decision-making body, the Syura Council, would deliberate on the matter soon.

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