KUALA LUMPUR: An Umno Supreme Council member has urged Pas to stop politicising Islam and religious sentiments.
"Stop harping on religious sentiments," Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi told New Straits Times.
He was commenting on the Perikatan Nasional component's recent statements about the Federal Court's decision on the unconstitutionality of 16 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah criminal enactment.
The constitutional challenge was initiated by Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid, a lawyer born in Kelantan, and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman on May 25, 2022.
Pas has criticised the Federal Court's decision on the case, describing it as a "black" day for Muslims.
Puad said Pas knew that it could not introduce provisions in the state enactment that violated the Federal Constitution.
"But they still pushed for it and when the Federal Court ruled that it was unconstitutional they blamed others.
"Why didn't they push to amend the Federal Constitution when they were in power?"
He said if Pas was serious about wanting to empower the Syariah courts, the party should get the support of all MPs to amend the constitution first.
"But I doubt they will do this because they are more interested in politics. We (Umno) saw this with Muafakat Nasional (MN)," he said, referring to the Umno-Pas pact in the aftermath of the 14th General Election.
He said after the fall of the then Pakatan Harapan government, Pas opted to work with Bersatu instead of prioritising their MN ally.
Umno was against Bersatu, its splinter party, joining MN.
"Then they were talking about uniting the ummah. But why didn't Pas invite Amanah? That's why we Pas' sincerity in what they say."
Meanwhile, Puad also urged Pasir Gudang member of Parliament Hassan Karim against being naive on the issue.
Hassan said the apex court should have taken Kelantan's politics, history, and culture into account when ruling on the case.
"I am not a member of Pas, but a PKR MP, who supports the policy of various races and religions in Malaysia so that we are fair to not only the Pas government in Kelantan, but also the majority of people of Kelantan who want the teachings of Islam to be upheld," he was recently reported as saying.
Puad said Hassan must be realistic and understand that to fully empower the Syariah courts, the Federal Constitution must be amended first.