There was much anticipation that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would make public BN's stand on PAS' hudud bill today, especially after the cabinet meeting.

However, this did not materialise and the prime minister left for China to attend a forum at about 1pm.

Despite having met with BN component party leaders last Thursday over the hudud bill, the only thing that has surfaced thus far is a fake statement in which Najib purportedly called on Umno MPs to vote according to their conscience.

After the meeting with Najib last week, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai said the prime minister would issue a statement on the matter the following day.

That Friday was also the cabinet meeting where Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal said the updated Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment 1993 was discussed but only the designated person would issue an official statement.

Even within MCA ranks, patience is running thin but the party is reluctant to snipe at the prime minister.

In a Chinese language statement today, Chai Kim Sen dropped his status as MCA publicity bureau chairperson and instead used his capacity as president of the Federation of Malaysian Chinese Guilds Association to pressure Najib to decide on hudud.

Chai said the previous six prime ministers have taken the stance of not implementing hudud and hoped BN would continue to adhere to this position.

Even though BN components parties had clearly expressed their objection, Najib is still dragging his feet.

Some believe that it is due to not being able to reach a consensus given that some Umno leaders are in favour of the bill while there is also speculation that the prime minister is waiting for the opposition to implode.    

On the opposition front, Pakatan Rakyat is showing clear signs of crumbling with Sarawak DAP pulling out of the coalition .

Sabah DAP, on the other hand, wants the formation of a new coalition without PAS.