GEORGE TOWN: DAP Supremo Lim Kit Siang is considering to take Pas president Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang to court for insinuating that he is "anti-Islam".
Lim said he had instructed his lawyers to consider whether Hadi’s remark was defamatory and a cause for legal proceedings.
"I am not anti-Islam and I support the inclusive, enlightened, progressive and tolerant Islamic vision as spelt out in the “Pas for All” slogan in the 2013 General Election.
"However, I cannot support an intolerant and extremist Islamic vision, whether by Islamic State or by any Islamic leader claiming to use the religion to hide their extremism and intolerance," he told reporters after the Penang's Chinese New Year open house at SPICE here today.
Pas was formerly with DAP and PKR in the opposition's Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition.
The coalition was declared 'dead' after Pas pulled out following a spat with DAP, particularly with its secretary general Lim Guan Eng, who is also Penang Chief Minister.
Last week, Lim (Kit Siang) called upon Pas to work with DAP to "save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy" and "from becoming a failed and rouge state".
On Friday, Hadi, in responding to his call, said that the party was shutting its doors to any further cooperation with DAP.
Hadi had said that DAP failed to show any proof that it supported Pas' struggle for Islam and the formation of an Islamic government, which was the core of the party's struggle.
He said that DAP also showed its true colours to the Muslims in Penang when it failed to look after their interest although it had one term to do so.
Lim said Hadi's response was not only "haughty and arrogant" but also "misconceived and misinformed".
"It is Hadi's prerogative to dismiss any possibility of working with DAP, but he has no right to turn and twist facts to justify his position.
"It was not DAP but Hadi as Pas president, who had violated the PR common policy framework and consensus principle that all decisions in the coalition should be reached by consensus of all the three component parties." he said.
Lim also said that Hadi should look into the mirror when he alleged that the DAP has failed to look after the interest of the people of Penang.
"Lest Hadi forgets, DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat won 30 state assembly seats in GE13 as compared to 29 seats in the 2008 general election.
"In the general elections, DAP not only won all the 19 seats it had in the 2008 general elections, but with a bigger majority in everyone of the 19 seats,
"In contrast, Hadi was thrown out of the Terengganu state government after one term as the Menteri Besar." he said.