Hadi’s bill and no honour amongst thieves
“When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.”
- Euripides, Orestes
People who do not think that Islam has been weaponised in this country (and every state that is supported by a Muslim majority polity) only have to look at how Act 355 has been used by Umno and PAS to play their sordid political games in the run-up to possible elections.
DAP's Lim Kit Siang is absolutely correct when he says this U-turn by Umno shows that criticism against this bill was not anti-Islam. However, what this should demonstrate to Muslims - but probably won’t - is that Muslim politicians have no problem treating their religion as just another tool to further their political ambitions instead of any real faith in their dogma.
Another example of this type of craven abuse of religion is in the Ahok case. Here is a brief reminder in my piece about how Islam is weaponised - “As reported in the Jakarta Post, Ahok repeated ‘a verse from the Quran that is used by some Muslim groups to oppose his election as governor. The governor said he meant to criticise the use of religion in politics, but some Muslims took his words as an insult to their holy book.’
“You read that right - Ahok cavalierly mocked a verse from the Quran that some Muslims had used to attack him on the campaign trail.”
Therefore, the next time someone accuses non-Muslim Malaysian politicians of being Islamophobic or anti-Malay/Muslim, we should always remember that the people who most often abuse their religion are the politicians who use their religion to threaten, intimidate and harass people - including their brethren - and not the politicians who are standing up against such tactics.
While Umno has the fig leaf of consensus spirit to mask their craven abuse of Islam in the name of politics, I still want to see how Malay/Muslim politicians will vote if this bill is introduced in Parliament. After all, there has been no clear answer from oppositional Muslim MPs, only the verbal gymnastic of pointing to a political ‘sandiwara’ and bromides to political and social inclusivity.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s bill has been a boon for Umno. Not only did it distract from the corruption scandals of this regime, it made Umno’s dalliance with PAS look like a sure thing. By withholding support for this bill, it makes PAS look like the political opportunists they are and Umno still the better bet for this charade of consensus that establishment partisans like to squeal about when confronted with the reality of Malay supremacy and systemic inequality.
It was a missed opportunity for bi-partisanship though amongst non-Muslim political parties. I was disappointed to say the least that DAP did not seek to find common ground with the establishment MCA on this issue. I wrote in an article supportive of MCA’s stand - “This need not be a hug fest but when a BN component party takes a position that aligns with the opposition, the discourse should be moved in the direction of commonality instead of wallowing in the clichés of ‘running dogs’ and dredging up the numerous scandals of the Najib regime that frankly has not gained traction where it counts.”
The fact that Malaysian opposition politicians, who should set the tone for bipartisanship, decide to attack instead of finding common ground on certain issues points to the political immaturity of the opposition and is something that the Umno state relies on when causing racial or religious issues to divide the rakyat and poison the discourse.
However, the MCA contention that its hard work paid off and Umno was made to see sense in the spirit of consensus, is rather suspect. As late as last week, Transport Minister and MCA chief Liow Tiong Lai claimed that there was no movement in the cabinet with regards to Hadi’s bill.
If anything, Umno’s move to ratchet up the tabling of this bill despite the MCA vowing to quit the cabinet is just further evidence that non-Muslim component parties in the BN government are merely...
“When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.”
- Euripides, Orestes
People who do not think that Islam has been weaponised in this country (and every state that is supported by a Muslim majority polity) only have to look at how Act 355 has been used by Umno and PAS to play their sordid political games in the run-up to possible elections.
DAP's Lim Kit Siang is absolutely correct when he says this U-turn by Umno shows that criticism against this bill was not anti-Islam. However, what this should demonstrate to Muslims - but probably won’t - is that Muslim politicians have no problem treating their religion as just another tool to further their political ambitions instead of any real faith in their dogma.
Another example of this type of craven abuse of religion is in the Ahok case. Here is a brief reminder in my piece about how Islam is weaponised - “As reported in the Jakarta Post, Ahok repeated ‘a verse from the Quran that is used by some Muslim groups to oppose his election as governor. The governor said he meant to criticise the use of religion in politics, but some Muslims took his words as an insult to their holy book.’
“You read that right - Ahok cavalierly mocked a verse from the Quran that some Muslims had used to attack him on the campaign trail.”
Therefore, the next time someone accuses non-Muslim Malaysian politicians of being Islamophobic or anti-Malay/Muslim, we should always remember that the people who most often abuse their religion are the politicians who use their religion to threaten, intimidate and harass people - including their brethren - and not the politicians who are standing up against such tactics.
While Umno has the fig leaf of consensus spirit to mask their craven abuse of Islam in the name of politics, I still want to see how Malay/Muslim politicians will vote if this bill is introduced in Parliament. After all, there has been no clear answer from oppositional Muslim MPs, only the verbal gymnastic of pointing to a political ‘sandiwara’ and bromides to political and social inclusivity.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s bill has been a boon for Umno. Not only did it distract from the corruption scandals of this regime, it made Umno’s dalliance with PAS look like a sure thing. By withholding support for this bill, it makes PAS look like the political opportunists they are and Umno still the better bet for this charade of consensus that establishment partisans like to squeal about when confronted with the reality of Malay supremacy and systemic inequality.
It was a missed opportunity for bi-partisanship though amongst non-Muslim political parties. I was disappointed to say the least that DAP did not seek to find common ground with the establishment MCA on this issue. I wrote in an article supportive of MCA’s stand - “This need not be a hug fest but when a BN component party takes a position that aligns with the opposition, the discourse should be moved in the direction of commonality instead of wallowing in the clichés of ‘running dogs’ and dredging up the numerous scandals of the Najib regime that frankly has not gained traction where it counts.”
The fact that Malaysian opposition politicians, who should set the tone for bipartisanship, decide to attack instead of finding common ground on certain issues points to the political immaturity of the opposition and is something that the Umno state relies on when causing racial or religious issues to divide the rakyat and poison the discourse.
However, the MCA contention that its hard work paid off and Umno was made to see sense in the spirit of consensus, is rather suspect. As late as last week, Transport Minister and MCA chief Liow Tiong Lai claimed that there was no movement in the cabinet with regards to Hadi’s bill.
If anything, Umno’s move to ratchet up the tabling of this bill despite the MCA vowing to quit the cabinet is just further evidence that non-Muslim component parties in the BN government are merely fig-leaf stampers for agendas proposed and decided by Umno in their supreme council meetings.
Pure bunkum
Which is also why it is laughable that Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin makes the claim that “The decision made by the BN is based on discussions among leaders of component parties, whereby we have to respect the consensus spirit” is pure bunkum. This is because it was Umno that made the decision to support Hadi’s bill and it was Umno that made the decision to abandon it.
Meanwhile, PBB’s Nancy Shukri’s admission that she was not given enough “explanation” of the bill, just goes to show you how BN politicians understand the legislative process and of course there is always that Islamic caveat “whatever that is good for Muslims”, which normally means not questioning anything that religious scholars or politicians propose for Muslim communities in this country.
Which neatly falls into line with PAS party secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan’s contention that Muslims are duty bound to support this bill, especially the current Umno president. Muslims apparently are duty bound to support these types laws but are not duty bound to reject kleptocrats, who use Islam as a means of sustaining power.
Takiyuddin also said - “For the sake of peaceful and harmonious life in Malaysia, the non-Muslims have to consider this. We are worried that the Muslims will turn up and go against the interest of non-Muslims” - which is funny because the system in Malaysia is predicated on Malay/Muslim hegemony and it was Umno who withdrew support of Hadi’s bill because they claimed it went against BN’s consensus model.
Does Takiyuddin really think PAS by itself poses any real threat to non-Muslims in this country? Does he really think that a political party which is routinely vilified for its stand on a whole range of issues and mocked by Umno and opposition politicians and supporters really poses a threat to non-Muslims in this country?
The only reason why PAS has been effective is because they have either embraced the moderate path and joined the oppositional alliance, or they have made the choice of joining Umno and attempting to impose their Islamic imperatives on Malaysia.
Of course, the real power here is PM Najib Razak. While PAS may have delusions of advising the current Umno grand poohbah, he has just demonstrated that he can do whatever he wants when it comes to Islam in this country. The reality is that PAS exists as an Islamic party only because Umno allows it.
While Hadi may claim there is a “mastermind” behind the collapse of his bill, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is confident that the bill would not come to a vote. PAS ideologues always email and remind me that there is PAS and then there is the Hadi faction. They always complain that I conflate the two.
Fair enough. If this is a game between Umno and Hadi, then it has caused more damage to PAS then Umno. If there is no conspiracy between Hadi and Umno, then either (1) Hadi is naive in trusting Umno considering the history of Umno and PAS, or (2) Hadi really does not want this bill to work.
As I explained in another piece - “Ever since the passing of Tok Guru (Nik Aziz Nik Mat), the Umno simpatico elements of PAS have redefined the party and the discourse to ensure that their Islamic dreams come to fruition. They have changed the ‘mahafiraun’ narrative that sustained PAS all these years to another more accessible, politically expedient narrative where PAS positions itself as the moral police of the Umno hegemon, counselling Umno for the betterment of the Muslim polity.”
PAS' Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar said that who tables the bill is not important as long as “we get what we want”. That’s the problem right there with PAS. They still have not figured it out. Umno does not care what PAS wants. All Umno cares about is what Umno wants. If PAS thinks that they will benefit from this little theatre performance, then they are sorely mistaken.
If there are indeed some behind-the-scenes shenanigans with PAS promised some sort of sweetheart Umno deal, it would be a mistake for PAS to think the hegemon would honour any such deal.
What is the lesson here?
There is no honour amongst thieves, but also no honour amongst Islamists.
Tomorrow: Benching Umno will not preserve our constitution
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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