The opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) will table a bill in Parliament next week to make apostasy a capital offence among Muslims. The proposal to introduce the death penalty for people who renounce their Islamic faith reinforces the fundamentalist stance of PAS and applies new pressure on the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the dominant government party. It is the latest move by PAS to try to show that it has stronger Islamic credentials than Umno, with the aim of increasing its vote among Muslims in the impending general election. Virtually all Malays, the majority race, are Muslims. The PAS proposal is expected to be put forward as a private member's bill when Parliament sits on Monday. Analysts said that PAS, which has only eight representatives in the 192-seat house, would fail to secure the bill's passage but would use the opportunity to attack Umno, which takes a moderate position on religious matters and has previously expressed its opposition to making apostasy a capital offence. The opposition party has criticised Umno for blocking implementation of legislation passed in Kelantan, where the state Government is under PAS control, that would introduce traditional Islamic laws, including cutting off the hands of thieves and stoning of adulterers. This week, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Chief Minister of Kelantan, accused Umno of rejecting the Koran. PAS president Fadzil Noor said religious leaders who were members of Umno were 'mute satans' for not speaking out against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
