MPs must be prepared for possibility of ambush in wee hours of morning to pass Hadi's Bill

By Baru Bian

RUU355 (or amendments to Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965)  issue has resurfaced this Parliamentary sitting, appearing on the list of the Parliament Order paper.

Baru Bian: It is unwise to allow hudud issues to be raised as it has caused unease and worry for the non-Muslim communities in Malaysia, particularly in Sarawak and Sabah.

Although it is uncertain whether debate on the Bill will resume this session, all MPs must remain alert to the possibility of an ambush in the wee hours of the morning.

The Speaker has shown himself to be capable of such underhanded tactics, and he may well be called upon to carry out a repeat performance.

Whether the Bill is debated or not, the actors involved and episodes past have shown without any doubt that UMNO is working hand in glove with PAS in this play.

The PM’s announcement that UMNO would take over the Bill, then back-peddling on it, and the fast-tracking of Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill after the marathon all-night Parliamentary sitting the night before is clear indication that UMNO is playing it both ways and hedging its bets.

Do the other BN coalition parties wonder what UMNO’s stand really is?

On such a crucial issue, they surely want an answer from UMNO, but we know from past experiences that UMNO leaders are experts at flip-flopping and nothing they say can be taken at face value.

The fact that UMNO is using RUU355 as a political tool is telling of their agenda.

They do not care that their ambivalence towards RUU355 and hudud emboldens the religious extremists to be even more bold and outrageous.

The perception is that the government is on their side as the leaders have failed to make a strong stand on this issue.

What this country needs is a strong government to declare that hudud has no place in our democratic and secular country. Sadly for us, there is little hope that Najib Razak will have the courage to take this stand.

What PAS refuses to acknowledge is the undeniable fact that the foundation of this country was never hudud.

Islam was made the official religion for ceremonial purposes but the intention was that Malaysia be secular, with religious freedom for all.

It is unwise to allow hudud issues to be raised as it has caused unease and worry for the non-Muslim communities in Malaysia, particularly in Sarawak and Sabah.

Hudud or Syariah law was never in the minds of our forefathers when the idea of Malaysia was mooted and eventually carried out.

 In fact, the absence of an official religion and freedom of religion for Sabah and Sarawak were 2 points that given high prominence in the discussion and the subsequent Malaysia Agreement.

Let us not be fooled into believing that hudud or Syariah laws will only apply to Muslims. Our news portals abound with instances where Islamic practices were imposed on non-Muslims.

Take for example the recent marathon in Kelantan where the Council required a segregation of the male and female participants of the event.

The most glaring of these incidences are the instances of forced conversions, unilateral conversions, body-snatching and the difficulties in conversions out of Islam.

Despite Najib Razak’s trumpeting of Malaysia as a model moderate Muslim country, the reality is that we are slowing but surely becoming a country where religious and racial intolerance is increasing, and religious extremism growing.

While it is not obvious yet in Sarawak and Sabah, we are not isolated from West Malaysia.

Unconsciously such prejudices may trickle in and take root and if unchecked, will destroy the society and nation as we know it now.

The need to fight against religious extremism and racial intolerance must not be taken lightly – many of us have family and friends working, living and studying in West Malaysia. What happens there affects us all.

It is unfortunate that we lack the strong and firm voices in this current regime to uphold the rights of all citizens of Malaysia, and to affirm and fulfill the terms of the Malaysia Agreement.

I therefore applaud our Muslim friends and leaders such as Mariam Mokhtar, Zaid Ibrahim, the members of G25, Nik Elin Nik Rashid, Siti Kassim, scholars such as Professor Dr Shad Faruqi  and many more for their outspoken defence of a truly free, democratic and secular Malaysia, often at the expense of their personal safety.- July 27, 2017

Note: The writer is PKR Sarawak chairman and Ba'Kelalan assemblyman.

Hadi's Private Member's Bill seeks to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or RUU355by empowering the shariah courts to enforce punishments ― except for the death penalty ― provided in shariah laws for Islamic offences listed under state jurisdiction in the Federal Constitution, without elaborating on the nature of the punishments. Shariah court punishments are currently limited to jail terms not exceeding three years, or whipping of not more than six strokes, or fines of not more than RM5,000.