COMMENT It appears to me that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has, in fact, led his party to a checkmate in the current political scenario.

While Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has maintained his silence about the government’s stand whether he would support the private member’s bill to enable in Kelantan the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, Islamic Affairs Minister Jamil Khir Baharom has let the cat out of the bag.

After being pressed by two PAS lawmakers, Mahfuz Omar and Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Jamil was only able to respond by saying, “A private member’s bill has its own process. We need to look at the bill first.”

Fair enough, but the following statement reveals it all: “When it comes up, only then does the question of supporting the bill arise.”

The question is, with such an important matter as the hudud laws, are we saying that Umno, and therefore, Najib as Umno president, can still afford to mull over the decision whether Umno will give its support to the private member’s bill in parliament?

In my opinion, Najib is well aware of the consequences, and he could be deliberately choosing to keep silent for as long as possible, because after PAS managed to get the hudud law passed in the Kelantan state assembly, fireworks between both the DAP and PAS would start. All he needed was to give enough time to tear Pakatan Rakyat apart, before the debate is even raised in Parliament.

Both DAP and PAS know that they will suffer the wrath of the people should they decide to break away from Pakatan Rakyat, which had given some glimpses of hope to Malaysians in the past two general elections. PAS said that it would not leave Pakatan, while the DAP said it will only sever ties with Hadi Awang, knowing well that within PAS there are many who are still pro-Pakatan.

This appears to be the basis why DAP supremo, Lim Kit Siang proposed a new coalition of members of parliament from both political divides to save Malaysia.

Eventually, PAS’ Hadi will be lauded as the new PAS hero, despite being unable to fully implement the hudud laws in Kelantan, and the blame will fall flat on the DAP for opposing it. Both MCA and Gerakan will have the last laugh, because in this whole game, they ‘apparently’ are able to ‘stop’ Umno from supporting the implementation of the hudud laws, but the DAP failed.

But, is it the last laugh for BN and Hadi Awang?

As one pundit put it, the decision to allow Kelantan to implement the hudud laws is a double-edged sword for both Umno and PAS. It will disturb the equilibrium in both parties, especially when they are competing to win the support of the rural Malays. It is the same pie that they are sharing!

The private member’s bill will further distance Umno and PAS from an increasing urban Malay population and other non-Muslims in both peninsular and East Malaysia. Judging from the raging debates, this is already happening.

Disquiet in the public domain

As it is, even amongst the Muslims, there is disquiet in the public domain over the implementation of hudud. There are some who say that the time has not come yet for Malaysia to implement the hudud laws, while others are saying that in the Quran, the word hudud is hardly mentioned more than 20 times.

The G25 group of eminent Malays is representative of the voice of the Malay majority in the urban area, who appear to be saying that enough has been said about the current political developments and they, like other peace-loving Malaysians, want all political parties to stop playing the race and religion cards immediately.

They realise that the politicians are the ones tearing apart the Malaysian fabric of society, with their political games that play on racial and religious sentiments. It is time that the G25 eminent Malays make their voices heard more often in the public domain.

The late Tunku Abdul Rahman Petra Al-Haj, in a speech at parliament on May 1, 1958, had declared Malaysia as a secular state. “I would like to make it clear that this country is not an Islamic state as it is generally understood; we merely provided that Islam shall be the official religion of the state.” The words of the founding Father of Malaysia still ring true today.

This is the foundation upon which a beautiful nation was established, but where we are heading to because of some unscrupulous politicians, it creates concerns not only to the Muslims but the other communities who make up the people of Malaysia.

DAP, which has consistently pointed out that the hudud law is against the spirit of the federal constitution, has already severed all ties with Abdul Hadi. Hadi, who is now pushed to a corner by the severance of ties by the DAP, is looking for internal support from within his ulama group and perhaps, Umno, in order to champion his cause.

If Pakatan takes the suggestion of Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong, the coalition may have no choice but to even sever all ties with PAS, leading to the formation of Pakatan Rakyat Baru without PAS.

If Umno remains uncommitted to the private members’ bill, this will eventually squeeze Hadi even further into a corner, and Hadi would be deemed as not being streetwise, and falling for Umno’s baits.

Hadi, who may for now be seen as a hero, may subsequently lose the support of PAS members who have all along pushed for the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.

On the other hand, Umno may support the present Pas leadership to see how the hudud laws can be implemented in Kelantan. The first case of amputation or stoning would become world news, which would not speak well of the country’s position as a moderate Islamic nation, as promoted by Najib to the international community.

Najib may lose his job when Malaysians suddenly wake up to the grim realities that they have been hoping not to take place right here in their neigbourhood, but whether it will or not happen earlier because of the controversies surrounding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), will be interesting to follow.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low calls it “the biggest weapon in the opposition’s arsenal and for those in Umno who want to see Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak removed from power.” The 1MDB controversy may see Najib losing a griphold of his office even before the full political game of the private member’s bill is being played out.

 

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.