Kelantan PAS has disrespected Pakatan Rakyat's leadership council decision on February 8 with regards to the amendments sought for the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code II Enactment 1993, said PKR.

In a joint press release today seven of PKR's top leaders led by party president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the Kelantan government's representative Nik Amar Abdullah had told the council during the meeting that only four amendments were being sought.

But when PKR finally obtained the draft bill more than a month later on March 12, a week before it was tabled, it was discovered the said amendments were not confined to four matters but was in fact a full 34-page bill containing the entire enactment with amendments.

"Although the contents were similar to the original 1993 enactment, this infringes on the concensus reached by Pakatan (when it was formed in) 2011 on the implementation of hudud law.

"In view of this, PKR is disappointed because the results of the Pakatan leadership meeting on Febuary 8 was not respected and in fact, went against the concensus reached in 2011," said the party.

PKR said during the establishment of Pakatan in 2011, the coalition had agreed that the implementation of hudud law was not the coalition's common agenda, but coalition partners respect the fact that implementing hudud law was part of PAS' policy.

A matter of respect

The coalition had at the time also agreed to accept that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code II Enactment 1993 was legislated before Pakatan's establishment and thus it was unreasonable for PAS to drop its hudud agenda.

However, PKR noted that policy matters involving the wider coalition must receive consensus by all three component parties, in accordance to their 2011 agreement.

"Although PKR respects the right of the Kelantan government to table the bill, it would be more appropriate if it respects agreements made at the Pakatan leadership level," read the statement.

The statement was signed by Wan Azizah ( left ), PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar, Rafizi Ramli and Shamsul Iskan Md Akin, Women's chief  Zuraida Kamaruddin and Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

PKR has one representative in the Kelantan state assembly - Guchil assemblyperson Roslan Puteh - whom the party had directed to abstain from debating or voting on the bill to amend the enactment.

Although Roslan was in the state assembly when a vote was called, he has been evasive about the nature of his participation in the actual vote.