Hudud: of end game and after-effect

I don’t know if DAP’s decision to sever ties with Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will only make him stronger and hence see him continue his reign as PAS president.

For all you know, some (or many) PAS folk might (or might be persuaded to) throw their support behind Hadi, just to prove a point – ie. that they “are not willing to be forced into making a decision“.

Call it pride or whatever, there are people in the party who would see DAP’s action as “twisting their arm to oust Hadi”, should they still “want DAP to continue ties with PAS” or ensure Pakatan Rakyat continues to “exist“.

That, DAP will surely deny. Still, pro-Hadi forces definitely will not want to miss out on the chance of “reminding everybody not to be puppets (or stooges) of the “Chinese-dominated DAP”. 

All that could very well work in Hadi’s favour, although his “fan base” in PAS is said to be shrinking. At least that’s how a PAS observer well, observed, describing the situation Hadi is now in as “something never experienced by former PAS presidents”.

Having said that, the possibility of PAS members not being frightened of the accusation of being “DAP puppets” cannot be brushed aside.  After all, in politics nothing can be dispelled.

Anyway, back to DAP’s decision which by now we know was reached at its central executive committee meeting held on March 23.

Deciding to cease working with Hadi and end ties with him has (as admitted by DAP) put the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council in limbo as Hadi is the PAS leader in Pakatan.

PAS on their part says cutting ties with their president equals to cutting ties with the party itself.

Now a hypothetical question: what if Hadi is no longer PAS president come June, when the Islamist party is due to have its muktamar and, more importantly, its party poll? Will DAP be able to work with a PAS led by someone else? Bear in mind that whoever that person might be – progressive or conservative – hudud will be a main feature of PAS.

Meaning, we’re back to the “prediction“ which has been making political rounds for quite some time now – which is the breaking up of Pakatan Rakyat.

DAP and PKR can or will remain friends. But where will PAS go? A PAS activist said, the days of PAS “going it alone“ are gone. But he wouldn’t say if that meant PAS would embrace Umno, although it is widely believed that there are PAS people who would love such a union. That, of course, can bring up a wide range of possibilities and problems best left for another day.

However, there are political observers who say Pakatan Rakyat will continue to live, but not in its current form. They are, of course,  speaking of a pact comprising DAP, PKR and a “moderate” outfit replacing PAS.

What about BN itself? Could the current hudud controversy lead to a BN break-up? Such a possibility has not been spoken about often or loudly enough. Nevertheless, quite a number of political observers do not see such a thing happening. This is despite the anger of BN components and the threats they made should Umno support the implementation of hudud.

The reason is that the “bravado” of MCA, MIC and Gerakan is not viewed seriously by many, including Umno. In fact, some Umno leaders as well as pro-Umno columnists including Ridhuan Tee Abdullah are on record as urging the BN components to make good on their threat to leave BN.

They have been silent, though, on the same threat made by BN member parties from Sabah and Sarawak.

Say and speculate what you want, the last thing we need is a political divide where the Malays/ Muslims are on one side the non-Malays/Muslims are on another.

That would be detrimental. Granted, race and religion has always been in the forefront of Malaysian politics – sadly.

The big question is: where will the current hudud controversy go?

At time of writing, we are still waiting for an official response from the prime minister cum Umno president on the stand of the federal government on the issue.

According to a report in The Malaysian Insider, Gerakan’s suit challenging the constitutionality of the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code can give the PM the perfect reason to delay making public comments on the matter citing subjudice and the need to wait for the court decision.

But judging from remarks made by former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and echoed by current law minister Nancy Shukri, the implementation of hudud is a no-go with the Federal Constitution standing in its way.

Whatever the end game is, things will never be the same for PR, and to an extent, BN, as far as ties with their respective allies are concerned, considering all the hard words uttered and action taken (real or “wayang” as alleged by some quarters) over the hudud issue. – March 25, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.