Even within the BN coalition, various parties are still sitting on the fence observing the possible developments before taking the next course of action.
COMMENT
By Sin Chew Daily
Tens of thousands of rally goers assembled at Padang Merbok last Saturday for the “Support RUU355” rally organised by PAS in a bid to drum up support for the amendments to Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 to increase the degree of penalties for religious offences.
The private member’s bill to amend the act was first proposed by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, but the federal government later expressed its intention of taking over the bill.
Nevertheless, due to differences in views within the Barisan Nasional coalition, various parties are still sitting on the fence observing the possible developments before taking the next course of action. We have yet to know whether the bill will be debated when the Dewan Rakyat session resumes next month.
Hadi’s Act 355 amendment bill has seen its share of controversies since day one. While PAS is totally resolved to push through the amendment bill, all the rest – including the various components of the ruling coalition as well as the general public – remain divided over whether to support or reject it.
Chinese-majority parties and the Chinese community in general disapprove of Hadi’s amendment to Act 355.
Even among the Muslims, not everyone is in favour of the amendment.
PAS’ effort in pushing ahead the changes to Act 355 has made a significant leap following the green light from Umno in the Dewan Rakyat last year, but the journey ahead is not without hurdles. In view of this, PAS organised this mammoth rally to bring the supporting forces together in a bid to exert pressure on Umno and other Muslim MPs to eventually table and adopt the bill.
The RUU355 rally managed to draw a sizeable crowd to take to the streets. PAS claimed that some 300,000 participants turned up last Saturday. The massive crowd was a major morale booster for the party, but it is yet to be seen whether Umno and Muslim MPs would follow PAS’ lead.
Notably, Umno’s minister in the PM’s department in charge of religious affairs Jamil Khir Baharom also turned up to show his support. The focus is now on the question whether Umno will eventually extend its full cooperation to PAS on the Act 355 amendment bill.
Lest we forget, there are plenty of opposing voices within the BN coalition itself. MCA, Gerakan and BN components in Sarawak have expressly voiced their disapproval. If Umno were to go ahead without consulting its allies, BN could be on the brink of collapse.
As the predominant party in the country’s nation-building process, Umno has every responsibility and obligation to defend the Federal Constitution and the existing system. Although the amendment to Act 355 is not about hudud, it will nevertheless lay a foundation for the eventual implementation of hudud in this country, posing a severe threat to our secular system. There is no way we should ignore the seriousness of this whole thing.
Naturally, Umno has its own strategic considerations and political needs for engaging PAS at such a crucial moment. Having said that, there is a bottomline as to how far any political calculation can go.
We must not rock the foundation of our nation for the sake of near-term political interests.
Sin Chew Daily is a local vernacular publication -FMT
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