Has the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek turned MCA into “Malaysian Charlatans Party” by keeping quiet on the hudud answer given by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom in Parliament on Tuesday, exposing the utter hypocrisy of the MCA campaign on hudud in the past two years?

Yesterday, in my media statement “UMNO/MCA’s ‘Devil’s Compact’ confirmed by Mahathir within 24 hours”, I had posed the question to Chua and the MCA leadership whether Jamil’s parliamentary reply “if hudud laws are implemented in Malaysia, they will not have any implications on non-Muslims” represented the stand of MCA in Cabinet and BN, “and if not, what are they going to do about it”.

There has been no answer but only thunderous silence!

How can this be the case when in the past two years, Chua had been leading his coterie of MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers up and down the country with only one campaign theme – that it is a “lie” that hudud laws will not affect non-Muslims.

Using the language of Chua and MCA leaders in their nation-wide campaign in the past two years, are they going to “chastise” Jamil for telling such a “lie” in Parliament, will they demand firm action to be taken by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak against Jamil as his parliamentary answer is contrary to the stand of the four MCA Ministers in Cabinet and the MCA national leadership in the Barisan Nasional or is MCA going to sever ties with UMNO over Jamil’s parliamentary answer?

Or is Chua and MCA Ministers and leaders just playing a political game, without any real conviction whatsoever, and their role is exactly as that described by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir, viz: MCA’s “hardline stance” against hudud law was “merely aimed at scaring the Chinese community and not aimed at the Malays or Muslims”, which was why MCA “never objected” when Mahathir unilaterally, arbitrarily and unconstitutionally made the “929 Declaration” that Malaysia was an Islamic State at the Gerakan National Delegates’ Conference on September 29, 2001.

Unlike MCA, DAP’s stand on hudud is clear, consistent and principled – that it is not suitable for Malaysia’s plural society and is not part of Pakatan Rakyat’s common policy platform.

In contrast, MCA is only playing an irresponsible political game as when it comes to the crunch in the final analysis, it would comply with UMNO’s wishes and dictates as happened in the unconstitutional and arbitrary “929 Declaration” that Malaysia is an Islamic State.