Kuala Lumpur, Nov 16: Retired Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has accused Malaysia's biggest opposition group of trying to trick the country's Moslem community by announcing plans to form an Islamic state if it wins power, news reports said today. Mahathir, who stepped down last month after 22 years in power but still wields considerable influence, said he believed that the pan-Malaysian Islamic Party was ''telling lies'' to Moslems, who form about 60 per cent of the country's 25 million people.
''It says it wants to set up an Islamic state, but the real intention is to cheat the people,'' Mahathir was quoted as saying by a newspaper. ''The party works with the devil.''
Islam has increasingly become a sensitive issue in Malaysia, where is politics is dominated by Mahathir's United Malays National Organization, the cornerstone of the 14-party ruling coalition.
Malaysia's new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to face a tough challenge in the next general election, expected by mid-2004, which will pit his leadership against the opposition Islamic Party.
Last week, the Islamic Party unveiled a controversial blueprint to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state if it wins power. The plan provides for the inclusion of strict Islamic criminal laws with punishments such as amputation and stoning. Bureau Report