Allah ban: Is Soi Lek imposing his own battle lines on MCA?

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

The hottest talk in town – within the Chinese community anyway – was how quickly MCA president Chua Soi Lek backed off when rapped by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin over the Allah ban.

Indeed, breakfast in many of the coffee shops that dot country saw the usual groups huddled over newspapers while gulping down their food and talking at the same time. Running dog, useless fella, DVD star were the epithets they flung at Soi Lek as they discussed the latest issues.

And sad to say, he deserved their censure. His tenure at MCA is proving to be as rocky as his predecessor’s.

Ong Tee Keat had failed because his temperamental nature made him an inconsistent and volatile leader, but he still commands some respect because of his refusal to stop probing the Port Klang Free Zone financial debacle.

But Soi Lek, now that he has finally got to sit in the president’s chair, is finding out the hard way that it is not so easy to make the correct call under pressure, especially when an immediate response is required. It not only takes guts, but lots of savvy and above all unshakable commitment to proclaimed principles.

On Monday, MCA decided to take up Allah issue to score points with the Chinese community. It urged Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to lift the ban on non-Muslims using the word to describe God because he had expressed regret over the prohibition. Hisham had said his predecessor Syed Hamid Albar, who was responsible for the ban, should have “let sleeping dogs lie”.

On Tuesday, Muhyiddin issued a ‘stern warning’ to the MCA to stop playing up the ban. Basically, the DPM was telling the MCA not to play with Malay-Muslim rights and revive ethnic tensions that previously led to a spate of violence against churches and other places of worship.

Yet to many Muslim leaders, the Allah ban is actually an Umno ploy to show that it is the defender of the Malays and Islam. The Islamist PAS, for example, has no objection to Allah being used by non-Muslims provided there is no abuse.

But neither theology or civil rights are the issues here. Why did Soi Lek cave in so quickly when just hours ago his own vice-president Gan Ping Sieu had defended their party against the DPM’s onslaught?

As they say, there are many ways to skin a cat, and Soi Lek could have chosen a way out that is less abrasive to his community. Why did Soi Lek ‘drop the face’ of the Chinese when there was no urgency?

After all, by now most Malaysians know Muhyiddin uses racial politics whenever he can to boost his political standing in Umno. The ‘stern warning’ on Allah was just another opportunity for him and his ilk.

Was Soi Lek trying to send his own political message even though he must know it may be at the expense of the Chinese community?

There are major undercurrents swirling in Umno right now. A long-simmering battle has finally shaped up between Prime Minister Najib Razak and former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir has chosen his signature race-and-religion trump cards to take on Najib’s 1Malaysia. Pundits say two of Mahathir’s main grouses are Najib’s failure to push through the S-shaped bridge project linking Johor to Singapore and the sports-betting license that was supposed to be awarded to tycoon Vincent Tan.

On both controversial projects, Soi Lek has already declared MCA’s undivided support. So is his latest rush on the Allah ban a signal that MCA under him will stand with Mahathir and Muhyiddin - not Najib and Hishammudin - in the event that an all-out dogfight breaks out?

At this point, it is appropriate to ask if this is also what MCA members want - to be aligned to right rather than the center. It certainly is not what the wider Chinese community wants. They may not wish to support any particular personality, but when it comes to issues and and points of principles, they know very clearly what they do not want.

They should not allow themselves to be used by self-serving leaders then. If there are doubts, commission a survey and if the results confirm this view, it is time for members of the Malaysian Chinese Association to show Soi Lek the door.