An Islamic state over my dead body – Karamjit Ghill

“An Islamic state over my dead body” – famous words from the late Karpal Singh, the “Tiger of Jelutong” that once upon a time stirred the whole nation. These were not just words, but represented a stand by undoubtedly one of Malaysia’s greatest ever politicians. Sadly, with the passing of Karpal, those words have passed on with him. What looked like principles of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) once upon a time is starting to look like it was a stand from a fearless individual rather than the entire organisation. DAP definitely seems to have lost its teeth following the departure of its national chairman.

Back then…

In 2011, the then-PKR vice-president Tian Chua said the Pakatan Rakyat coalition collectively agreed that their fight was strictly to uphold the Federal Constitution. This means there was never an agreement by all three allies to the idea of establishing an Islamic state or implementing hudud law. They took it a step further before the last general election by convincing the public that PAS had agreed to shelve the idea of tabling hudud law which today has been proven to be just an electioneering strategy to woo the voters in their favour.

But now…

All the while, DAP who claims to be the only party with real multiracial ideology has been against implementation of an Islamic state with hudud law. They even threatened to leave the Pakatan Rakyat coalition if the hudud law was tabled. While PKR’s only ambition seems to be freeing their supreme leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS turned a deaf ear to the threats by DAP and tabled the bill in the Kelantan state assembly. DAP then had to just swallow the bitter pill of reality.

But wait? What do they tell their voters? To buy some time, DAP then said they would withdraw from Pakatan Rakyat if hudud was passed. PKR continued to rally against the government on Anwar while the PAS-dominated Kelantan assembly passed the bill unanimously.

What does DAP do now? The latest game plan is that DAP will withdraw if hudud is implemented. So now it seems DAP has severed ties with Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang but is still in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition with PAS. Very complex relationship they share. It seems like DAP is becoming the next MCA. Being in limbo, what can DAP do?

Lim Kit Siang started his roulette by saying this situation had come about because of “Umno’s unity government plot”. Definitely having a problem with selective reading, Lim has yet to realise that Umno and other BN parliamentarians themselves have spoken against the implementation of hudud law. Today comes the suggestion of “Save Malaysia” coalition where Lim has invited MPs from BN to join hands and uphold the Federal Constitution.

Seriously? A little while ago nobody from the BN coalition was right but today, open arm invitations are given to be allies. Maybe Lim should retire from politics and venture into scriptwriting in the entertainment industry.

I promise you sir, I will watch all your movies because they will definitely have a good plot with twists and turns that may shame Ocean’s Eleven.

We knew the demise of Karpal Singh was a loss to the nation. But to what cost? It is for sure becoming crystal clear now.

* Karamjit Ghill reads The Malaysian Insider.