Would winds of change usher in hudud?

With the general election drawing nearer, there is talk of negotiation and alliance.The question now is, would PAS and Umno lie on the same bed?

COMMENT

Is there any way possible for the Barisan National to snatch victory from Pakatan Rakyat in the upcoming general election? This is the question being asked by all and sundry in the country.

Nevertheless, a large number of organisations and nations across the globe see change as an inevitable thing in Malaysia, and would welcome a Pakatan victory.

Among them is Hamas whose top-most leaders are allies of Anwar Ibrahim.

During the entire Pakatan campaign in 2012, Anwar displayed images of the Hamas leaders in meetings with Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi, with Anwar himself at the centre of attention.

These images, applauded by the local folks all over Peninsular Malaysia and in Borneo, show the close relationship the Hamas leadership has with Anwar.

And suddenly, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak jumps onto the Hamas bandwagon and gets himself meddled in a diplomatic row with Al-Fatah. Yet, the surprise visit – surely arranged by some organisations acting as public relations and image polisher of the Malaysian prime minister – has had some reverberations.

The presence of PAS Syura Council member Ustaz Nasharuddin Mat Esa, since then ejected from the party, speaks for itself.

Was the trip to Gaza an attempt to gain the sympathy of local Islamic NGOs? Or was it an attempt to discuss future plans for the pro-Umno PAS members?

It would be stupid to dismiss the possibility of talks between Umno and PAS members. It is clear that a PAS member who joins an Umno prime minister’s trip is either a toad or simply a negotiator.

Was it not expected that PAS would dismiss Nasharuddin after this display of love for the prime minister?

However, many observers believe the Malaysian prime minister’s visit to Gaza, where he praised the Hamas movement, was not a simple visit. Despite the apparent diplomatic faux pas, there is more than support for Gaza in the visit.

This was certainly an attempt to reach Sheikh Yusuf, the mentor of Anwar. And do we care to know why?

Persistent rumours

Recently, Najib, with the syariah in mind, spoke of Southeast Asian Muslims leading a sort of Islamic revival movement. This was at the Nusantara seminar titled “Islam in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Hopes”. The speech was read by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Jamil Khir Baharom.

Hudud has been the bone of contention between PAS and Umno in their talks for a future “Muslim-led” government.

At this stage, the BN has surrendered to almost all the demands made by the opposition. This includes getting rid of one of its most powerful tools, and that is the Internal Security Act (ISA).

While the pro-Mahathir groups are calling to reinstate the ISA, it is almost certain the draconian act is history.

Moreover, there is still room for talks between the parties in power and the strong opposition coalition. After the good showing of the DAP in Sarawak in the 2011 state election, there were talks of offers being made for the latter to join the BN.

There are persistent rumours in Malaysia that the government is thinking of taking in the opposition members in its Cabinet. Or that there will be a caretaker government that will be under the prime minister with opposition members joining in.

Such a caretaker government should naturally be in place after the dissolution of Parliament, anytime soon in Malaysia.

A caretaker government, if it is in place, will have no “emergency” powers to reinstate the ISA to please some Umno members.

Nevertheless, it will have the power to offer to the opposition one of the two possible scenarios:

1. The formation of a government of national unity in which the leadership will be under Umno with a large number of the opposition members in the government.

2. Throw the gauntlet to PAS with hudud or Islamic syariah laws made official in the states run by PAS.

The first possibility seems remote, since the ruling coalition will never allow Anwar to be a member of the Cabinet. This will be due to the outright opposition by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who promised Anwar will never be a minister or prime minister.

Surprises in store

Thus, remains the second possibility. Will Umno turn the tables and offer PAS hudud, something PAS has been fighting for since its inception?

During the negotiations for a coalition with Umno, PAS did lay down hudud as one of the conditions for teaming up with the former. If Umno were to surrender to PAS on this issue, a whole new Malaysia will unfold.

If PAS were to join a coalition with the BN, and hudud put in place in Kelantan, Kedah and elsewhere, Pakatan would be a reduced opposition.

Will PAS take such a bait and leave Pakatan just when the general election is at the doorstep? Let’s conclude this point by stating that Nasharuddin’s presence in Gaza was not for the love of the prime minister.

The rumour mills are still turning, but it appears the winds of change have reached the shores of Malaysia.

Will it be a complete regime change, with Pakatan in power? Or will it be a break-up of Pakatan, with a possible break-up of BN, too, to accommodate PAS and hudud?

Whichever way the balance will tilt, it appears that Malaysians must prepare themselves for some surprises.

Furthermore, the long wait for Najib to call for polls has something to do with the ramifications that unfolded in Gaza.