Shadow Policy Committee

By Shazwan Mustafa Pakatan Rakyat (PR) appealed for unity amid speculation of snap polls, as they gathered here to work out policies and strategies to unseat the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) from power. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng told a crowd of 2,000 at the PR convention that the BN, chiefly Umno, would try their best to “politicise” the ties among PR members. “Umno will always try to play up the relationship between PAS and DAP. They want to politicise this. They will use the 3Rs — Race, religion and ‘Raja’ (the Rulers) to try and drive a wedge between us,” said the Penang chief minister. Umno along with its newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, have consistently attacked the DAP and PAS for their inability to agree on several key policy issues — including the Islamist party’s insistence on forming an Islamic state. Echoing Lim, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang warned of the same threat, saying that PR needed to focus on balancing living and interacting within a “multi-religio...

The Pakatan Rakyat has agreed to a common policy to form a Royal Commission to deal with religious issues. According to its Common Policy Framework document released today, the coalition of three parties will also defend the position of Islam as the religion of the federation, as provided for by the constitution. “Pakatan Rakyat vows to set up a comprehensive mechanism to provide just resolution to cases which involve the overlap of civil and syariah laws, including a Royal Commission to deeply study all relevant issues,” said the policy statement expected to be endorsed by some 1,500 coalition PR convention delegates later today. The proposal is seen as a giant step forward for PR as similar proposal — to set up the Inter Faith Commission (IFC) by the Malaysian Consultative Council Of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS) in 2001 has been fiercely opposed by many Islamist groups including PAS, a PR leading partner. Today, PR also pledged to organise more dialogues an...