“Morality and values of the bedouins are not necessarily Islamic and therefore just and useful in the present-day context. You do not waste time debating the source of our laws. You should be more interested in justice.”
– Zaid Ibrahim, 2017
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim was right when he posted on X that the apex court’s decision to strike down 16 Kelantan syariah criminal provisions was historic, an event which PAS dubbed a “Black Friday”.
Zaid acknowledged that he caved to political pressure back in the day on his quest for justice but he is correct when he said that “the supremacy of our Constitution is protected and reaffirmed by the highest court, the Federal Court.”
Here is the thing about these religious desperados. When it suits them, especially on issues such as race and religion, they warn progressive Muslims and non-Muslims to abide by the Constitution.
But when the Constitution is abided by and detracts from their theocratic goals, they become insolent and demand that special steps be taken to protect their interpretation of religion.
Zaid acknowledged that in the past he caved to political pressure because BN was afraid of the blowback.
What we should consider now is whether the Madani government will cave to the protestations of the religious far right and carry out measures that would give legitimacy to the outcry of these religious desperados.
In other words, sullying the historic day for rational Malaysians and attempting to placate PAS because they are afraid of the possible electoral blowback.
As Zaid said, everyone swears to uphold the Constitution but the reality is that successive governments have attempted to whittle away at constitutional safeguards when it comes to the religion of the state.
The religious far right led by PAS is attempting to paint this as some sort of calamitous day for Islam in this country.
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, for instance, has spread fake news about how offences under Islamic law have disappeared from the Penal Code in an attempt to reframe the Federal Court's decision as being soft on crimes deemed unIslamic.
The fact that these laws still exist demonstrates the lies Perikatan Nasional would use to subvert the Constitution.
Not just a Muslim issue
PAS has been attempting to subvert the Constitution for decades. And if you think that this is solely a Muslim issue you would be wrong.
Remember when the Kedah menteri besar unilaterally decided to stop gambling in Kedah and limit the sale of alcohol?
He said: "I am a Muslim and cannot gamble. Later in the hereafter, I will be asked what I did on this issue, and if I did not do anything, I will be punished (kena tibai). While I have the power, I should use it.”
Having power and using it. This is what PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang means by “powerful Islam”.
The power to impose religious dogma on all, believers and non-believers alike. This is why the constitutional sound reasoning of the Federal Court offends their religious sensibilities.
This is what PN would do when it comes into power but more importantly why they are pressuring the Madani regime to enable their theocratic agenda.
Zaid made a very good point when he said: "That’s when they started passing criminal laws at the state assemblies under their control.
"Laws that they considered to be Islamic, even though such laws, in most cases, were already in place in the Penal Code."
Why do you think fellow travellers in the religious bureaucracy and religious political operatives attempt to do something like this?
Two reasons. First, it undermines or relegates to oblivion civil and criminal law. The menteri besar’s unilateral move to ban gambling was challenged in the civil court. If syariah law was used, there would be no avenue to dissent against these types of legislation or the hurdles would be insurmountable.
This leads us to the second point, it makes it easier to impose such laws on everyone including non-Muslims.
This is the reasoning of someone like the Kedah menteri besar in defending his trespass into non-Muslim economic activity.
As reported in the press, he said that problems resulting from gambling affect Malays, Chinese, Indians and Siamese people. Therefore, his policy was not aimed at any one ethnic or religious group.
"I want the people of Kedah to live in harmony. Any negative elements should not be allowed to grow. It will be stopped under my watch. Any doors that lead to problems must be closed," he said.
Call for constitutional amendments
Theocratic states do not want to share power. They want the religious establishment to be the sole source of power and legitimacy in the state.
The legacy institutions of power in this country understand that they are vulnerable to the political and religious malfeasance of religious political parties.
This is why these religious desperados are attempting to pressure the Madani regime into making constitutional amendments, which would be detrimental to democracy, to ensure the sanctity of syariah law in this country.
This is why they are attempting to drag the rulers into this mess. They are attempting to make this an issue where Muslims are not free to practise their religion as they see fit but the reality is that what these religious extremists want is to ensure that there are no constitutional constraints on their religious diktats.
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said, "So, we are defending the syariah, and the Malay rulers' institution."
This is a complete bunkum. We know what PAS really thinks of the rulers and their position of Islamic authority in this country, right?
Hadi openly defied the sultan of Terengganu when he said that there was no room in mosques for political speeches.
PAS ulama openly defied and encouraged other religious bodies to defy the sultan of Selangor when it came to the Bon Odori festival.
But now of course all these political operatives are attempting to use the royal institution as a shield against their treacherous behaviour towards the Constitution.
What they are attempting to do is use the royal institution to gaslight the public into believing that the Constitution is being used to usurp the position of Islam in this country.
To stop Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, PN and PAS are willing to slay sacred cows of Malay-Muslim institutions because as I have argued before, these are the agendas of the deep Islamic state and the religious industrial complex.
This is not about whether you support the royal institution or not. This is about how these defenders of race and religion have no respect for the institutions they claim to champion.
“Black Friday” reminds these religious desperados that it is not the religion of the state or the royal institutions which are being threatened but their theocratic agenda.
The two courageous Muslim women who brought this legal action, which I would like to remind everyone was done through a harmonious channel, are now receiving death threats.
It remains to be seen if the Madanai state will enable the religious desperados’ unconstitutional and anti-democratic agenda and outright lies giving legitimacy to these threats.
Unfortunately for rational Malaysians, Zaid reminds us that the lure of syariah implementation once elected is a winning strategy. - Mkini
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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