PAS has now made its position absolutely clear. Its Central Ulama Council has declared that it is “wajib” for Muslim voters to support PAS and its allies in order to capture Putrajaya, with the stated objective of ending gambling throughout Malaysia. MCA and MIC can no longer remain silent.
PAS cannot form the Federal Government on its own. The only realistic route for PAS to obtain federal power is through a BN-PN electoral pact and a government formed together with UMNO, MCA and MIC.
Therefore, MCA President Wee Ka Siong and MIC President SA Vigneswaran must state clearly whether their parties support PAS’s declared objective of using federal power to end gambling nationwide.
They must also answer a very simple question. If BN and PN contest the next general election as allies, will MCA and MIC support a BN-PN government that gives PAS the numbers and political power to implement this policy?
There can no longer be two different messages, one for Malay voters and another for non-Malay voters.
PAS is telling Muslim voters openly that they must vote for PAS and its allies so that PAS can reach Putrajaya and abolish gambling. At the same time, MCA and MIC cannot go into Chinese and Indian communities asking voters to support BN while pretending that a vote for BN has nothing to do with PAS.
If BN and PN are political partners, then every seat won by MCA, MIC or UMNO contributes towards the parliamentary numbers required for a BN-PN government.
In such a scenario, a vote for MCA is a vote that helps PAS enter Putrajaya. A vote for MIC is a vote that helps PAS enter Putrajaya. A vote for BN is a vote that gives PAS the federal power it says it needs to implement its agenda.
This issue goes far beyond gambling. Malaysia is a multiracial and multireligious country. Muslims are prohibited by their religion from gambling, and that must be fully respected. But the Federal Government must also protect the constitutional position, freedoms and lawful way of life of non-Muslim Malaysians.
PAS is entitled to advocate its religious position. But it cannot demand that its interpretation of Islamic religious obligations be imposed through federal law on every Malaysian regardless of religion.
A nationwide prohibition would directly affect the freedom of non-Muslims to participate in activities that are currently lawful and regulated under federal law. It would raise a much larger question about whether PAS intends to use federal power to progressively impose its religious and moral positions on citizens who do not profess Islam.
That is why MCA and MIC cannot treat this as somebody else’s problem. For years, both parties have claimed that they represent and protect the interests of Chinese, Indian and non-Muslim Malaysians. They must now tell voters what exactly they intend to do if BN-PN forms the next government.
Will MCA and MIC oppose PAS’s proposal? Will they make the continued legality of regulated gambling for non-Muslims a condition of joining any BN-PN government? Or will they accept PAS’s agenda in exchange for Cabinet positions?
Malaysians deserve an answer before the next general election, not after the government has been formed.
PAS has already told voters what it intends to do with federal power. The question now is whether MCA and MIC have the courage to tell voters whether they intend to help PAS obtain that power.