MCA President Liow Tiong Lai should stop be an UMNO apologist and take tuition lessons on courage from his predecessor Dr Chua Soi Lek to bravely oppose UMNO instead of continuing to defend UMNO’s instigation of PAS to implement hudud laws in Kelantan. Liow had shown himself to be untrustworthy and not a man of honour when he dishonoured a written pact made with Chua prior to last year’s MCA party elections.
To cover-up his abject failure to criticise UMNO for instigating PAS to implement hudud in Kelantan, Liow is relying fully on the mainstream media to launch an all-out campaign of lies and distortion against DAP. Even though these lies that DAP is responsible for PAS implementing hudud in Kelantan without mentioning the role played by UMNO, have been repeatedly exposed and rebutted, the lies and distortion in the mainstream media continues. DAP advises the public to refer to online media for a fair, balanced and accurate coverage.
How can Liow say that PAS’s insistence on moving ahead to legislate hudud in Kelantan is a “trap” by PAS to put Umno in a bind when it is UMNO that had instigated PAS to do so? As an MP for Bentong, Liow knows that UMNO Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom had begun the entire controversy by instigating PAS in Parliament on March 27 to implement hudud on Muslims in Kelantan.
Jamil had said that “the federal government will be ready to work with any state government that is ready to implement hudud including Kelantan, because Umno Kelantan assemblypersons had supported the passing of Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II to implement hudud in 1993”. Jamil even suggested that it is up to the non-government members of Parliament to table a private member’s’ bill for that purpose.
Liow also claimed that it is an “unfair situation” for Umno, as the Malay party cannot openly voice its reservations against implementing the orthodox religious law because hudud is under the Quran and they cannot oppose it. This is untrue because as late as 25.9.2011, UMNO had openly opposed hudud when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak declared in Kampar on 25.9.2011 that the Government will not enforce hudud law in Malaysia. Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said one country can not have two different legal systems. Mahathir even said that Muslims in Malaysia are not ready for hudud and that it would not be fair to have different penalties between Muslims and non-Muslims for the same criminal offence.
In the 2013 general elections, UMNO had won more seats and Muslim votes despite opposing hudud law. However, Najib has now flip-flopped on the BN government’s previous position from not enforcing the hudud law to publicly lauding PAS’ proposals to implement hudud law. Jamil Khir even went a step further by forming a joint central technical committee comprising PAS, Putrajaya and the Kelantan government to look into the implementation of hudud in Kelantan in a joint press conference with Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah on 2.5.2014.
Instead of criticising UMNO, Liow has chosen to pin the blame of DAP and PAS despite DAP openly criticisng PAS for openly working with UMNO to implement hudud, after failing to secure support from DAP and PR. Can Liow explain the perverse logic and double-standards of criticising DAP that had openly criticised PAS and UMNO implementing hudud laws in Kelantan but not UMNO for instigating PAS to implement hudud laws in Kelantan?
For this reason Liow has no right to call for DAP to publicly apologize for PAS wanting to implement Hudud in Kelantan when DAP has consistently and publicly objected and criticized PAS and UMNO for doing so, whilst MCA should be the one to publicly apologize for refusing to criticize UMNO for instigating PAS to implement hudud in Kelantan.
Clearly Liow has failed in his first step to transform MCA by not daring to openly oppose and criticise UMNO. Why does Liow not dare to ask UMNO to leave BN if UMNO is intent on implementing hudud laws in Kelantan? LIow is contradicting himself when he finally concluded that the root of the problem of implementing hudud laws in Kelantan is PAS, because this is not a government bill. However the support of UMNO, which is the government, effectively makes it a government bill.
Or is the lure of the perks and privileges of Cabinet posts promised by Najib so tempting that he is willing to sell MCA’s soul by endorsing UMNO’s support of PAS implementing hudud in Kelantan?