MCA Deputy President, Datuk Dr. Wee Ka Siong has finally asked the right question although he is still quite blur about the answer. Yesterday, Wee posed the question to me why I dare not say “No” to PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang but want MCA to say “No” to UMNO on the issue of hudud.
The answer which Wee is too blind to see or accept is that MCA cannot say “No” to UMNO because of UMNO’s hegemony in Barisan Nasional while DAP and PAS can say “No” to each other as Pakatan Rakyat is a coalition of equals.
Wee must belong to the infinitesimally small group of Malaysian politicians who do not know that the DAP has said “No” to Hadi and the PAS leaders about implementation of hudud as it is against the secular Malaysian Constitution and inappropriate for a modern, multi-racial and multi-religious nation like Malaysia.
This is why hudud is not part of the Pakatan Rakyat agenda or common policy platform, and is only the policy programme of PAS and which could undermine or even destroy the Pakatan Rakyat coalition if this agenda is pursued in utter disregard of the sensitivities, principles and objectives of the other Pakatan Rakyat parties.
All the three component parties of Pakatan Rakyat – DAP, PAS and PKR – are united in saying “Yes” to the PR common policy framework of restoring justice, the rule of law, democracy and good governance while outside the PR common policy framework, the three parties respect differences of outlook, approach and objectives with each party able to say “No” on those issues outside the PR common policy framework.
This means outside the PR common policy framework, DAP can say “No” to PAS and PKR, PAS can say “No” to DAP and PKR and PKR can say ‘No” to DAP and PAS.
But can MCA say “No” to UMNO outside the Barisan Nasional common policy framework?
The BN common policy framework was that Barisan Nasional would operate on the basis of consensus and the core principle of the BN common policy framework is to uphold the secular Malaysian Constitution with no hudud laws in the country.
Both these principles were violated when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on 24th April that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud.
Not only the early MCA Presidents like Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Tan Siew Sin, but the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein would be turning in their graves at Najib’s announcement as it was clearly contrary to their wishes and vision of a secular Malaysian Constitution with no hudud laws in the country.
Najib had clearly violated and veered outside the Barisan Nasional common policy framework when he declared that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud but MCA cannot say “No” to Najib to get the Prime Minister to retract his April 24 statement and return to the Barisan Nasional common policy framework!
This is the latest proof that MCA cannot say “No” to UMNO when UMNO violates the Barisan Nasional common policy framework. Can Liow, Wee and the other MCA leaders explain why their dreams of ministerial and deputy ministerial posts on their return to the Barisan Nasional Cabinet and government should take priority and precedence over the MCA political principles and the ability to say “NO” to UMNO when the Barisan Nasional common policy framework are clearly and blatantly violated by UMNO?