Jui Meng: Soi Lek is bluffing, if MCA left BN he will be charged for oral sex

Stop bluffing and confusing the people, PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told his former colleagues in MCA and Umno as the two parties drummed up a crescendo over the hudud law issue.

"If Chua Soi Lek has any guts, he will take the MCA out of the BN now. The fact is he can't do that because the moment there is any inkling he is going to, Bukit Aman will call him up over his sex video. The mouse may squeak now and then, but make no mistake, the sword is still hanging over his head," Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

"As for Muhyiddin and Umno, we challenge them to lay out the time line of when they will implement hudud. Prove to the Malays and the Muslims how sincere you are about Islam by stating a clear and definitive framework for hudud in Malaysia. Otherwise, it is clear as day and night that the two of them, MCA and Umno, are merely playing a coordinated game to split and divide the people again. Muslims and Malays to turn to Umno and the Chinese to the MCA."

Oral sex blackmail?

Jui Meng, the former Health minister and MCA vice president, was referring to Soi Lek, the MCA president who was caught in a sex video scandal in 2007.

In 2010, at the height of a power tussle with his predecessor Ong Tee Keat, Soi Lek had said he was thinking of quitting the MCA for the Pakatan Rakyat. Immediately, Soi Lek was called to the police headquarters in Bukit Aman and quizzed for having oral sex with his girlfriend, which in Malaysia is a crime.

In the past week, the issue of implementing hudud law in predominantly Muslim Malaysia has erupted into a political row, albeit drawing lesser public interest than before. Ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad started the ball rolling by challenging PAS Spiritual Adviser Nik Aziz to implement it in Kelantan, with PKR de-facto head Anwar Ibrahim supporting Nik Aziz on the issue, while DAP objected.

This situation in Pakatan is nothing new and the three partners have said it many times. If PAS wants to introduce hudud law or an Islamic state, it must have sufficient majority either in the state or federal government to do so. Neither PKR nor DAP will be bound to support on it this motion.

Soi Lek rushes to ram home 'winning point'

Nonetheless, it did not stop Soi Lek from rushing for a slice of the media glory.

“MCA’s stand is very clear. We will object strongly to hudud. If Umno wants to implement hudud, we will pull MCA out of Barisan Nasional - simple as that. Our stand is very clear. Umno wants to implement hudud, MCA is no party to it, we’ll get out of it," Soi Lek told reporters on Friday.

Hudud is arm of the Muslim law that pertains to 6 criminal prosecutions, and is feared because it prescribes punishment that includes stoning to death, the amputation of limbs and whipping. The 6 hudud crimes are theft, highway robbery, illegal sexual intercourse, false accusations of zina or adultlery, drinking alcohol and apostasy.

On Thursday evening, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said Umno supported hudud law but it was not time yet to implement it. He did not give any clues as to when would be a good time to do so, nor did he lay down any clear plans to introduce hudud.

This prompted many critics to accuse him of trying to hoodwink the Malay and Muslims, because after 5 decades of authoritarian rule, UMNO was still unprepared for hudud.

In fact, Soi Lek in his eagerness to ram home what he believes will be a winning point with the Chinese community nearly gave the game away. Soi Lek and MCA have in recent years fallen onto the wrong side of public opinion due to voter disenchantment, mainly over their perceived fear and inability to stand up to Umno.

“That can be understood because all Muslim support the teachings of the Quran. But you must see his qualifying statement that Malaysia is not ready to implement hudud law. And that’s very clear,” said Soi Lek.

Umno-MCA tango

To Pakatan leaders, the Umno-MCA tango was to suss out the DAP, especially Karpal Singh who has expressed strong objection over the creation of an Iislamic state and hudud law. Public response so far has been muted, with UMNO and MCA still suffering a huge loss in credibility after a series of ill-judged political moves.

To Jui Meng, it was good that the hudud issue has broken out into the open.

"Either way MCA will keep using it as a weapon against Pakatan. So no harm to take the debate into the open. At this point in time, the non-Malays are still concerned because any new system including hudud can change the character of the country but they are not as fearful as before," said Jui Meng.

- Malaysia Chronicle