A Penang based-NGO has challenged Malay leaders in DAP to make clear their stand on the hotly debated issue of hudud.

Penang Malay Congress president Rahmad Isahak questioned the silence of these leaders despite the nation-wide arguments surrounding issues related to their religion.

NONE Rahmad ( left ) said these leaders need to publicly state their stance because being Malay Muslims, the community wanted to know their position on the issue.

"Are they puppets or nonentities? Perhaps there are really no Malay leaders in DAP... that is why they are silent," quipped Rahmad, whose NGO claims to speak for the interest of the 640,000 Malays in Penang.

"If they exist, they must know that the Malay Muslim community in Penang is awaiting their answer," he said.

"For Malay and Islam issues, these leaders cannot just be relying on their boss - Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng - to speak up on their behalf," he added.

Silence leads to lack of confidence

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh has been voicing his objections towards PAS' insistence on implementing hudud law in the country, saying it goes against Pakatan Rakyat's common policy framework which emphasis a welfare state.

Several Umno leaders have also expressed their support for the implementation of the Islamic jurisprudence although its partner in the BN coalition - MCA - is against it.

The country's Constitution states Islam as the official religion of the state but freedom of religion is guaranteed since independence in 1957.

But Rahmad opined that the Malay DAP leaders' silence on the issue has led to the lack of confidence among the community's electorate.

This lack of trust has also been directed at PAS and PKR leaders, who have joined hands with the Malay DAP leaders, to avoid commenting on the matter, he added.