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Scoop Link: Why I Didn't Vote - Ashraf Choudhary
MP: Why I Didn't Vote On Sex
Bill
27.06.2003
By HELEN TUNNAH deputy
political editor
For Full Story
see…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3509651
New
Zealand's first Muslim MP, Ashraf Choudhary, says his
decision to abstain on the vote decriminalising prostitution
was not wimpish or a "cop out".
…
"I had a considered
and deliberate view that I would not vote for this bill
because of my faith, my background - and my community would
not expect me to vote for it.
"I'm pleased I didn't vote for it.
"But for me to vote against the bill would have negated the potential benefits for those unfortunate women who are in that situation."
"I said to them I would not
vote for it because it is against my own beliefs and it is
against the community's beliefs."
…
Dr Choudhary's
abstention and the surprise decision of Labour MP Luamanuvao
Winnie Laban, a church elder, to support the bill secured
the win.
Both said Prime Minister Helen Clark did not
lobby them to support the bill.
…
For Full
Story see…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3509651
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