WHY IS IT WRONG FOR UMNO TO BACK HUDUD?

PKR and DAP say that when it comes to what they want to do you can agree to disagree. But when it comes to what PAS wants to do you cannot agree to disagree. You must all agree or not do it at all.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I remember once lamenting that the Malays will never unite. If PAS says black then Umno will say white just for the heck of it. My opinion was that we should not oppose for the sake of being on the other side but instead look at the issue and oppose it only when the issue needs opposing.

I then used the Chinese schools and Chinese education as one example. Whether it is DAP, MCA or Gerakan, both sides of the political divide can side down together and leave their politics outside the room when it comes to issues such as those.

Malays, however, bring their politics into the conference room and can never come to an agreement because one side does not want to be seen as supporting or agreeing with the other side.

My joke then was Cina mati dalam persatuan, India mati dalam union, dan Melayu mati dalam politik — till death will we politic. You can also interpret that as the strength of the Chinese is in their associations (tongs, triads, etc.), the Indian strength is in their unions (at least at the time of the joke in the 1970s), while the Malay strength is in their politics (then Umno and PAS, of course).

However, in some cases, strengths can also be weaknesses. Hence the Malay strength is also their weakness. Their politics is so strong that it weakens them because they are not able to come to any consensus even when the issue is of mutual benefit.

Now, it seems, Umno will support PAS in Kelantan regarding the issue of Hudud. Is that right or wrong? Just because PAS is ‘the enemy’ does not mean Umno must oppose whatever PAS proposes. They should oppose it, of course, if they think that Hudud is wrong. However, if they think that Hudud is the duty of Muslims then it is not wrong to support the issue.

It all boils down to tepuk dada, tanya iman.

I am not discounting the fact, however, that Umno is supporting Hudud to destabilise Pakatan Rakyat. But we must not forget that it may also destabilise Barisan Nasional so the knife cuts both ways.

As to DAP saying that PAS stabbed Pakatan Rakyat in the back that is probably a very immature way of looking at things. PAS is ruling Kelantan just like DAP is ruling Penang and PKR is ruling Selangor.

Does DAP get PAS’s permission before implementing something in Penang? Did PKR get PAS’s permission before mooting the ‘Kajang Move’ and before ousting Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim? Can’t we also say that PKR stabbed PAS in the back regarding the events in Selangor?

You cannot argue that what DAP does in Penang is DAP’s business and what PKR does in Selangor is PKR’s business but what PAS wants to do in Kelantan is DAP’s and PKR’s business.

PKR and DAP say that when it comes to what they want to do you can agree to disagree. But when it comes to what PAS wants to do you cannot agree to disagree. You must all agree or not do it at all.

And don’t give me that argument that Hudud affects the whole country so DAP and PKR have a say in the matter. If PKR messes up in Selangor and the state falls back to Barisan Nasional, like what happened to Perak and Kedah, that, too, affects the whole country when Pakatan Rakyat does not win enough seats to form the new federal government.