The gyrations of Hadi

 

Most of us believe in free speech and the necessity of protecting that right from arbitrary infringements.

Most of us also believe that free speech is not an absolute right.

For instance, it does not give you the right to cry “fire” in a crowded theatre even if you are motivated by a desire to call attention to the inadequacy of the firefighting equipment.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has been ringing the alarm bells for some time now it seems he labours under the conception that the country is in danger of a takeover by non-Muslims.

The long-time MP from Marang has a penchant for inflammatory statements going back to 1981 when he virtually said that you cannot vote for Umno and stay Muslim.

Incendiary statements like these are hard to debunk, like Vladimir Putin’s latest claim that the war in Ukraine was started by the West.

But sometimes, these assertions can have a potency which that master of propaganda Joseph Goebbels understood as possessing a lethal effect, especially when repeated brazenly enough.

It is obvious that three months after losing the 15th general election to Pakatan Harapan, Hadi has yet to reconcile himself to the loss.

He has been subverting the electorate's verdict by casting around for all sorts of grounds not to accept it.

From saying that Muslim voters were lackadaisical about voting, which was why Harapan, buoyed by an energetic non-Muslim turnout, won GE15, Hadi has gone on to claim that Muslims are keener to prioritise the performance of the umrah over actually going to the polling station to vote.

Several of his statements are so ridiculous that people feel it is a waste of time to contradict them.

Now and then, when some of his critics expose with the fact the hollowness of his claims, Hadi is not concerned to respond with counterarguments.

He must feel he is above the need for substantiation.

He is not concerned to be factual. He uncorks an egregious claim and does not bother to back it up. Mere assertion is proof.

Latest statements

Take his latest lurch into the realm of fantastic statements.

In a dialogue organised by a book publisher, Hadi predicted that the ruling government led by Anwar Ibrahim would soon collapse.

The claim was made in spite of the fact that none of the component parties in the coalition, which in total number constitute a two-thirds majority, has indicated a rethink of their enlistment.

In fact, one sizeable component, Umno, reiterated its support and assured it will stay put until the next general election.

On what grounds did Hadi base his prediction of the unity government’s fragility and imminent collapse?

Wasn’t it wishful thinking that led the PAS supremo to see fragility where there is none?

Is Hadi so unwilling to see the ruling government in the saddle that he has to conjure up visions of its instability as the only way he can tolerate its existence?

Perhaps Hadi has to resort to fantasy to keep component parties of the opposition Perikatan Nasional, of which PAS is the largest member, believing that their stay in the opposition is only temporary and that their ascension to becoming the rightful government is only momentarily delayed.

Whatever fantasies the PAS leader has to deploy to keep the opposition coalition intact, he has to make sure his boat does not crash into the reef of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds used to combat Covid-19 in the time (March 2020 to October 2022) PN was jointly in power with its coalition partners.

If it crashes, then the dizzying gyrations of Hadi would only come to be seen as an elaborate diversion from what usually brings politicians down - graft on a scale too big to ignore. - Mkini

---

TERENCE NETTO is a journalist with half a century’s experience.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.