At its 60th anniversary in Kepala Batas on October 1st, PAS insisted that it would not force the hudud law on non Muslims, blaming Umno for stirring up the controversy.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (left) said the issue had been polemicised by Umno and its 'paid media'. He said the syariah law should be supported by Muslims as society has deteriorated, and the crime rate had risen.
''However, when raising the issue of syariah law, only the part on hudud is mentioned and highlighted,'' he told a 3,000 strong crowd at the Dewan Millennium today.
''The part on hudud is purposely highlighted to instill fear in non-Muslims and to make Muslims look stupid,'' he added.
The Marang assemblyperson gave the assurance that the Islamic justice system was fair.
Abdul Hadi added that a true syariah court judge was more focused on 'freeing' an accused, striving to do so according to Islamic principles.
This law, he said, was Allah's law and was not created by the Prophet or any other individual.
Muslim, non-Muslim barrier down
''But whenever they mention hudud, they said it is PAS' hudud...they hide the true nature of hudud,'' he lamented.
Abdul Hadi also said he was pleased that with the party's continued relationship with non-Muslims, it has managed to breakdown the barrier between the two sides.
He added that the party had managed to do it so well that there are non-Muslims who asked to join PAS.
Non-Muslim political parties and NGOs were also willing to work with the party ,he said.
''Unfortunately, there are certain quarters who question why PAS is working with non-Muslims. This was taught to us by Islam
''That is why we join forces with Bersih 2.0 although its president Ambiga Sreenevasan, is a non-Muslim,'' he said.
PAS accepts everyone, he stressed, even those 'dropped' by Umno.
This is the party's openness that led it to join hands with other opposition parties to form the Pakatan Rakyat, he added.
''We have accepted our differences. The paid media by BN still wants to divide us until today but it seems like they have failed.
Star studded event
The two-day congress was attended by PAS bigwigs and representatives from Pakatan - Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong and Komtar assemblyperson Ng Wei Aik.
The programme included a symbolic launch to mark the party's 60th anniversary, a token of appreciation to PAS founder Dr Burhanuddin Helmy's wife, and two intensely dramatic and passionate performances - a musical by a group of school children and poem recital by national laureate A Samad Said.
Congress papers on PAS history and future political development were presented by PAS vice-president Husam Musa and Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar respectively.
The crowd which eventually grew to about 5,000, sat and intently listened to both speakers among others.
Meanwhile, Mohammed, better known as Mat Sabu, said PAS will continue with its celebration in other states so that the event would be more meaningful to its members.
He said the party cut short its celebration from three days to two, in view of the work load in preparation demanded by the coming general election which may be called in November.
He said PAS zoomed in on Kepala Batas to play host to its celebration because its MP, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's parents were founders of PAS in Penang decades ago.
"We hope with this event, Penang will return to its glorious days especially for the Malays and Muslims, and this will strengthen Pakatan," he added.