The mendacity of Hadi Awang

“All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.”

- John Arbuthnot

COMMENT I consider PAS a religious sect masquerading as a political party and a component party of Barisan National.

Many PAS members who still hold allegiance to Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat’s pragmatism, if not his religiousity, tell me that Abdul Hadi Awang should just come out of the closet and swear fealty to Umno. This way there would be a modicum of honour in how they conduct themselves in the upcoming elections should Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak have the courage to roll the dice and see where they land.

Hadi’s claim that non-Muslims would embrace syariah law because it showed Islam was fair and just is laughable, not because of the idiocy of the statement but because Malaysians, and this includes Muslims, have very little faith in the current “secular” system in place.

Syariah, as I have argued before, would just be the cherry on top of the fascist cake that the Najib regime and PAS are baking because of the scandals plaguing the former. The funny thing is, Hadi’s conduct would be condemned and judged harshly by the Islamic fanatics he wishes to emulate.

In a speech to various right-wing Malay groups, he said, “When they see that syariah law is better, they (non-Muslims) will automatically choose syariah and this is what is feared by those quarters (who oppose the amendments to the Act).”

This is a blatant lie and Hadi knows this. Hadi knows very well that during Tok Guru’s tenure, the opposition pact was playing hide and seek with hudud - agree to disagree and the various rhetorical permutations gave way to open hostilities that led to the break-up of Pakatan Rakyat after the passing of the PAS spiritual adviser.

He knows very well that most non-Muslims have very little faith in the legal system in this country when it comes to disputes where Malay/Muslim “rights” are questioned or challenged. This covers everything from conversions to marriage, and under the Najib regime where criminal acts are turned into racial issues, the Low Yat fiasco a case in point.

Furthermore, in Malaysia, this question of syariah law has been an impediment to any kind of cohesive opposition alliance. An “Islamic” law the world has proven to be bigoted, unjust, cruel and detrimental to societies that have been dragged into this system by mendacious clerics who ignore the privileged class it creates and subject the rest of the population to its brutal edicts.

In addition, countries shackled by “Islamic” laws are neither functional nor contribute in any way to the development of cordial international relations. Most sane Malaysians - Muslims and non-Muslims - realise this.

Hadi was duplicitous when he claimed that “the syariah court only affects Muslims and has nothing to do with non-Muslims”. Everyone knows that anything to do with Islam in this country has an effect on every Malaysian regardless of his or her professed religion. Everyone has felt the harsh glare of the kind of Islam that was used as a tool by Umno to shore up Malay support and constantly remind non-Muslims that they were interlopers in this country.

The civil service, the security service, the education system, nearly every state apparatus, is a reminder of the influence of Islam on every Malaysian citizen. The Arabisation process favoured by Umno and slavishly followed by PAS is a triumph of form over substance and the rail on which the gravy train runs on.

Oblivious to Umno’s vagaries

This question of hudud is always about the gravy train. As reported in the press, Hadi has no problem saying that “Najib is only human and not a saint, and humans make mistakes, but the act of attacking and bombarding the prime minister with unfounded allegations is uncalled for.”

In other words, Hadi condemns the so-called “unfounded allegations” and dismisses the alleged corruption scandals against the current Umno prime minster as the regular failings of human being. Is this what his syariah system would look like?

Is it any wonder that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ran into a brick wall when he tried to explain to Hadi what exactly was wrong with 1MDB and the Najib regime, and came away with this, “These were the things that I had explained to Hadi and he admitted that there was some truth in it when he met me. But in the end, because he is now alone and PAS no longer has allies, that's why he is fighting on the side of Najib.”

Mahathir said the same to me when I interviewed him in the beginning of the year.

The biggest argument against syariah law should be that its biggest proponent Hadi thinks that Najib “should not succumb to pressure and he should be allowed to solve the problems he is facing”. "I agree with him that he should not step down and I must say that he should be given a chance to finish his term," he had said.

Hadi-aligned PAS members tell me that there are greater stratagems at play here than merely implementing syariah or hudud law. When pressed, they demure because even though they think fondly of me as apparently I am part of “the opposition”. Strange, I assumed that we were all part of the opposition.

However, it does not really surprise me that now PAS thinks that Najib is weak and that concessions could be extracted from his regime. The problem is that Hadi is in a weak position himself. PAS seems oblivious to the vagaries of dealing with Umno and Umno is every ready - especially now - to use PAS as just another of its outsourced political thugs, or as one Umno insider told me.

“Do you really think that hudud is going to happen here in Malaysia?” She continued, “Hudud and Hadi are convenient fillers to break the news cycle. Nobody takes them seriously. How could anyone take them seriously?”

In one of my numerous articles on PAS, I wrote, “The only reason PAS has enjoyed a political resurgence is because of its affiliation with the former Pakatan Rakyat. Their resurgence is not based on any cultural or social shift but rather the compromises made in joining mainstream Malaysian politics.

“And PAS was not the unwanted stepchild that it makes itself out to be, but rather contributed valuable logistical and public relations support to a newly resurgent opposition pact that greatly benefited from its politics of inclusion, somewhat flawed it may have been.”

There are many pragmatic voices within PAS who do not view an alliance with Umno as anything but disastrous to them in the end. This is why there are so many contradictory voices in Hadi’s PAS. This is why PAS fears Amanah. Amanah did not fare as badly as the Umno “advisers” predicted in the last by-elections.

The reality is if PAS folded, Amanah could replace this Islamic sect and the opposition would have an Islamic party that was cooperating with the secular alliance and yes, they would pose a very real threat to Umno hegemony.

And this is where Hadi thinks he can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He knows that he is facing schisms within his ranks. He knows that his sect has lost populist support from a diverse polity. What he hopes to achieve, according to some PAS insiders who spoke to me, is rule by proxy.

To make sufficient gains into the federal system by supporting Umno thereby generating the perception that PAS has a de jure, if not de facto role, in the government.

Umno, of course, will always get the better of PAS. The problem is getting the better of PAS will have dire consequences for the rest of us.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. - Mkini