Umno played out PAS again with Act 355 U-turn, says PKR Youth

Umno has played out PAS once again, with the government's U-turn on taking over PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's syariah amendments, said PKR Youth.

After Prime Minister Najib Razak had announced the decision to take over Hadi's private member's bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdictions) Act, or Act 355, the move was unexpectedly abandoned yesterday.

"Sadly, Umno has chosen to make a fool of PAS just as had happened in 1977, when PAS was kicked out of the federal government (during the time of former prime minister Hussein Onn).

"Selangor PKR Youth sees this as an old story that has repeated itself.

"After nearly a year since the bill was tabled, today PAS realises that it has been in a fantasy scripted by Umno-BN.

"They also realise they have been caught by Umno's sweet promises that are clearly a trap," Selangor PKR Youth's legal bureau chief Muhd Harris Idaham Abd Rashid said in a statement today.

Hadi tabled his bill in 2015, after Kelantan unanimously passed its hudud enactment with an assembly dominated by PAS and Umno assemblypersons.

The bill would remove the final obstacles to the state enactment coming to force.

Najib last year ordered the motion on the bill to be moved up the order paper, to the surprise of BN component parties who are vehemently opposed to hudud.

'Wake up, PAS'

Harris said Selangor PKR Youth was sympathetic towards PAS for having been "manipulated" by Umno's "political games".

"It is crystal clear Umno had given PAS false hopes last May 2016, when it gave Hadi the chance to table his bill.

"Unfortunately Hadi had swallowed Umno's rotten bait, and thanked the government," he said.

He advised PAS to wake up to the fact Umno would not help PAS in the amendments, as it would not break away from its coalition partners MCA, MIC and Gerakan who are opposed to it.

Harris also urged for a return to the common goal of removing the BN from government, and called upon PKR's central leadership to work on strengthening ties with PAS.

"Throw out the muddy water and take the clean, let's make this the Youth platform to revive the spirit of cooperation anew for the sake of a better Malaysia," said Harris.

'Far from over'

Meanwhile Kelvin Yii, special assistant to Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen warned that the struggle was far from over as Hadi can still table his bill on his own.

Umno MPs can still vote along with PAS to have the bill passed in Parliament, he said.

"To date, BN MPs remain ambiguous in their support of Act 355, and no official consensus to reject it was announced by the prime minister.

"That means, there is still a risk that not only the speaker will be told to prioritise the private’s members bill, but also that the BN MPs especially those from Umno, might still vote for the bill," said Yii in a statement.

"All the Sabah and Sarawak MPs, especially those from BN must stay true to their objection and to be present in Parliament to make their objection known.

"By not turning up or abstaining from voting, it is as bad as voting ‘yes' to the bill," he said.

He said should the bill be passed, all MPs would "share the same responsibility or blame".

"No amount of explanation will ever justify their failures to stand up for the beliefs of the people of Sarawak and Sabah against an Act that is contrary to the federal constitution."- Mkini