Will religion disguise corruption?

The main selling point of the parties that have seized power is their claim to “protect” the Malays and Islam - ironically by bringing back the very party under which the country was allegedly plundered almost to bankruptcy.

The religious attacks got to a point where Lim Guan Eng was called an "enemy of Islam" in February, for trying to save and restructure Tabung Haji's hotel assets. Yet the politician charged with actually abusing Tabung Haji's assets is viewed as part of Islam's "defenders" i.e. Umno.

Another irony is that politicians like Saifuddin Abdullah, who was attacked for "endangering" Muslims with Icerd, are now suddenly welcomed into the gang.

Granted, the appointment of Federal Terri­tories mufti Zulkifli Mohamad as religious affairs minister, rather than a PAS leader, may be a sign of moderation. After all, Zulkifli made the news in 2019 by presenting a cake to his neighbours for Chinese New Year. But is his appointment just window dressing?

If the rot grows deeper inside our system, there may be a greater need to appear “pure” and “pious” externally. In other words, will Islamisation be used as a veneer to cover up deeper decay, decadence and corruption as seen in some Middle Eastern countries?

I will be glad to be proven wrong. But the culture of money politics, patronage and even corruption may be too deeply embedded into the DNA of Umno (especially), Bersatu (mostly ex-Umno) and the former BN folks at GPS.

So even though the “superstars” (those charged with big corruption) were not chosen for the new cabinet, does that mean the other leaders have suddenly become “chaste virgins” with no lust for easy money? Can leopards change their spots?

Moreover, since the present band of political buccaneers came to power by backstabbing political allies/mentors and betraying voters, are we to believe that moral leadership will be their calling card?

What I fear is this - well-choreographed spectacles like a big “clean up” of relatively powerless groups like the LGBT and “women who dress too sexily”, while leaving the powerful big sharks to carry on with their corruption.

This regime also came to power without any manifesto. So what will their policies be? Will Muslim women be required to tutup aurat (cover up) before being allowed to enter government offices? As for non-Muslim women, will only full-length pants or skirts be acceptable? Perhaps wearing white blouses with black bras will also be a reason for “public servants” to deny service to public taxpayers?

Will the dress code be extended to shopping malls? That’s what the Kota Bharu Municipal Council (under the Kelantan PAS state government) did in April 2018 - 90 officers scoured hypermarkets and hotels and issued 21 notices for “counselling” and four summonses to Muslim women for wearing “tight or indecent” clothing.

Non-Muslims who think they are exempt should note that all stage shows in PAS-controlled Terengganu require that men and women be separated - female singers/dancers can perform only for female audiences, and behind closed doors.

It was just in November 2019 that Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) told Parliament that the “open selling and consumption” of alcohol should be stopped, just as smoking had been banned at all eateries. His justification was that drinking was “more dangerous” than smoking, especially when combined with driving. He was supported in this by Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PAS-Pasir Mas).

In the same month, PAS information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad claimed that Malaysians had been “shocked” with the Oktoberfest beer festival which was “clearly against” the so-called “akhlak serta budaya ketimuran” (eastern morals and values).

Which “eastern culture”? We could laugh then that this chap was totally (or deliberately) ignorant about how much the Japanese, Koreans, Chinese and Filipinos drink. But now that PAS (and Umno) are in power, it’s not so funny anymore.

After banning “open alcohol”, will “open pork” be next? Will public displays of char siew (roast pork) and bak kwa (barbequed pork slices) be barred, with sales only allowed at the back of shops, so as not to “offend” anyone?

"Hudud" or syariah laws have long been the political selling point of PAS and it famously pushed Hadi Awang’s RUU355 (Rang Undang-Undang) bill, which provides for 100 lashes of the cane for certain convictions under hudud law.

Now that a huge majority of MPs in the "Pengkhianat Nasional" government are Malay-Muslim, surely this is the golden chance for PAS to insist on its hudud laws? After all, its secretary-general, Takiyuddin Hassan, is now the de facto law minister.

Yet PAS was silent about hudud in its election manifesto. Will it now conveniently keep quiet about the issue, since its partners, especially GPS, are not comfortable with it? Some political analysts say they are sure that PAS will be “practical” and not push for hudud.

If so, does that mean PAS has been using the hudud issue merely as a political weapon to attack other parties for being “anti-Islam” knowing full well that it lacked support? Just as RUU355 was used to break up the former Pakatan Rakyat coalition in 2017?

Yet, Kelantan’s Syariah Criminal Code already includes amputation of limbs as punishment for theft and robbery, though the state has not been able to enforce this yet (because criminal laws come under federal, not state, jurisdiction in our Constitution).

However, a “hudud light” version is already in force, and caning has been carried out, for example on two Muslim women in Terengganu in September 2018 for attempted lesbian sex.

Hudud law is not supposed to affect non-Muslims - for now. But will we one day become like Aceh, Indonesia, where several non-Muslims have been caned (some reports say “flogged”) for syariah offences?

Or perhaps like Brunei, where the “open” celebration of Christmas is banned (even in shopping malls) and dressing up as Santa Claus can be punished with five years in jail. Non-Muslims there are also subject to Islamic laws on zina (sex without marriage), khalwat (close proximity) and even selling food before sundown during Ramadan.

If GPS objects for fear of alienating Sarawak's many rural Christian voters, perhaps the "2Malaysia" solution will be adopted? Like the use of “Allah” by Christians - banned in West Malaysia but allowed in East Malaysia.

There are many good things about Islam - fairness, justice and kindness. This was the idea of Rahmatan-lil-alamin (Blessings to all) philosophy which the Pakatan Harapan government tried to promote.

Yet, in practice, why is it that we, especially non-Muslims, end up hearing more about the religion’s “power” to bully, to threaten and to punish, rather than its compassion? Especially from the "backdoor" politicians who claim to act in the religion’s name?

There is one form of genuine Islamisation I will welcome - to wipe out corruption, which we all know is a cancer that destroys a nation. Under Islam, corruption is actually a far worse sin than even eating pork, because it goes beyond haram (forbidden) and is an "abomination” (dilaknat) severely condemned by God.

But will corruption really be stopped under the "Pengkhianat Nasional" government? We know the record of Umno, but what about PAS?

Before the last general election, an audio clip was leaked, in which it was  allegedly admitted that PAS secretly took RM2 million from Umno to fight DAP. Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, a pale shadow of his respected father, Nik Aziz, repeatedly denied saying it. But in February 2019, he finally confessed that it was him and that he had been lying all along.

PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin admitted that it was wrong to lie in Islam, but he cited Islamic history to justify it. So if lying can be made “Islamically acceptable”, what about corruption? While hudud law aims to punish common thieves and robbers by chopping off their arms and legs, will it also apply to the big crooks who steal billions?

So these are the concerns of Islamisation in Malaysia. Will it be all about the symbols, rather than the substance of clean governance, fairness and kindness? Will we get only the shiny packaging with an empty box?

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ANDREW SIA is a journalist who prefers teh tarik kau over tepid English tea. - Mkini