With the death of Karpal Singh, a by-election will soon be called for the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat vacated by him. Will PAS carry on with its plan to table a private motion in the Parliament in order to implement the hudud law in Kelantan at a time when its ally DAP is mourning over a great loss?
I personally feel that PAS has had the hudud law in mind for quite some time, and the current trend towards religious conservatism would augur well for PAS' goal to fulfill its Islamic state aspirations. and as such, PAS is not expected to back down on it. Even if the motion is not tabled in June, it will be in September.
Now what needs to be done is to stop PAS from tabling the private motion in the Parliament instead of discussing how to prevent the bill from being passed in the Parliament. The former option is to directly get PAS to withdraw from its endeavor while the latter is a more passive way of doing things, because once Pandora's box is opened, our greatest fears could as well become a reality in the end.
If PAS is to seek to implement hudud law through constructional amendment, for non-bumi parties to secure the support of 75 MPs in Dewan Rakyat is not that difficult after all. However, Kelantan deputy menteri besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah has said PAS does not want to amend the federal Constitution, as it only seeks to amend the existing articles on criminal code with a simple majority of 112 votes.
According to legal experts, PAS would only need to amend the Penal Code and Criminal Jurisdiction Act to bring hudud law to effective enforcement. With more than half of the country's MPs being Muslims, it is very likely that PAS will have its day if this thing is brought to the Parliament.
Discussing PAS' private motion in the Parliament will boost religious conservatism and impact national unity and religious harmony, and the consequences could be grave whether the bill is eventually adopted by the Parliament or not.
As such, the best thing to do now is to stop PAS from tabling such a motion in the Parliament and this could be achieved through three different approaches: Pakatan Umno and the Speaker.
There are reasons why PAS has been so insistent in pushing ahead its hudud law agenda. DAP was the biggest winner in last year's general elections, capturing a total of 38 parliamentary seats while PAS only managed 21, the poorest showing among the three Pakatan parties.
As such, there is a need for PAS to revert to its aggressive religious stance in order to gain back the lost support. The improving support from Chinese voters has also emboldened PAS to toss out its hudud law agenda.
Another critical factor is the attitude of PAS' two allies in the opposition pact. PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim has said PAS has the freedom to implement the hudud law although PKR and DAP would not support the private bill.
The implementation of hudud law has everything to do with the Pakatan roadmap, i.e. liberty, openness and democracy. And since both PKR and DAP are consistent in their stand, they should exert the pressure on PAS, and if PAS is insistent in its advocacy, it should make a choice between dropping hudud law or quitting Pakatan Rakyat.
PAS might have seen the eagerness of its allies in capturing the federal administration that it has chosen to act fearlessly. PKR and DAP must be firm with their stand and have a showdown with PAS. Even though the departure of PAS could dilute Pakatan's chances of capturing Putrajaya in the next general elections, it would nevertheless help the pact secure greater public confidence.
Meanwhile, PAS has its own concerns in fighting solo without Pakatan. It is now time for the party to make a choice and resolve the ideological conflict among Pakatan component parties once and for all.
For Umno, the hudud law issue is a double-sided sword. Allowing PAS' private motion to be debated in the Parliament could indeed check the advances of PKR and DAP, but once the bill is adopted, there will be no turning back for the party. The BN government now eagerly requires foreign investments to kickstart its transformation program, and only a more open political system could ensure the realization of our high-income country objective.
Mahathir could say "No" to PAS' hudud law because he had strong support from the people. But, Najib is not enjoying this edge today, and coupled with the strong prevailing religious sentiments, Umno might not be able to take control of the whole situation.
It is not impossible for the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to reject PAS' private motion. The Terengganu Speaker has earlier this month rejected the motion by PAS state assemblymen to implement the hudud law passed in the state legislative assembly on July 7, 2002.
Defending the secular system is the bottomline of democratic struggle, and its uncompromising principle.
By LIM SUE GOAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily
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