KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Muslim opposition party on Thursday picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to explain what its vision of an Islamic state would mean for this multi-cultural country.
"They can fix the venue and date," said Abdul Hadi Awang, a religious teacher regarded as the most influential leader within Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS).
Abdul Hadi, who is the party's deputy president and Chief Minister of the eastern state of Terengganu was responding to a challenge from Mahathir's adviser on religious affairs, Abdul Hamid Othman, to debate the issue, according to state-run Bernama news agency.
Abdul Hadi says Malaysia's constitution and laws are not based on the Koran and "hadis" -- the sayings and practices of the Prophet Mohammed.
The government hopes moderate Malay Muslims will be put off PAS if it spells out its conservative definitions of what an Islamic state should be like.
PAS has also been wounded by the arrest two months ago of 10 supporters police say belonged to an Afghan inspired militant group. The leader of the group is a son of the party's spiritual leader.
The attacks on the United States last month lent the government's campaign against militancy greater acceptance at home and abroad.
Malaysia's other races, the ethnic Chinese and Indians are anxious about the rise of PAS and the opposition front is already in disarray over the issue.
The mostly-Chinese Democratic Action Party quit the bloc last month over fears PAS aimed to create a theocracy in a country where around one third of the people were non-Muslims.
Until recently members of Mahathir's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) had expected to lose more ground to PAS at the next election, expected in 2003 or 2004, but in recent days they have expressed a lot more confidence.
"If there was an election tomorrow we would win easily, but we can't have another one after just two years" a senior UMNO member told Reuters.
Moderate Malay Muslims deserted UMNO in droves in the 1999 election after the humiliation of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked and jailed after challenging Mahathir in 1998. Anwar, who is serving 15 years, says the sex and corruption charges against him were trumped up.
PAS was the biggest beneficiary, and Parti Keadilan Nasional, led by Anwar's wife, depends on its support to lead the campaign against Mahathir.
The Islamic state issue is expected to blow up when Malaysia's parliament opens its budget session on Monday, after the summer break.
10:13 10-04-01
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