MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai seems to be having the “shivers” causing him yesterday to urge all to give the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak more time to make public the government’s stand on the PAS President and MP for Marang, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill on the implementation of hudud laws in Kelantan.

What is clear is that Liow is no more the confident self six days ago when he gave “exclusive leaks” to the media that Najib would announce the UMNO/BN’s stand on Hadi’s private members bill last Friday – and six days have come and gone, and Najib continues to suffer from “labour pains” without any sign that Najib would be opening his “golden mouth” on this issue.

In the past week, Malaysians have been told that the 13 Barisan Nasional component parties last Thursday and the Cabinet last Friday have reached a consensus to oppose Hadi’s private member’s bill on hudud implementation as it is against the Federal Constitution, unsuitable for a multi-racial and multi-religious nation like Malaysia and would have an adverse impact on the nation’s economy, foreign investment and development.

Why have the confidence expressed by the MCA and Gerakan Presidents and leaders that Najib would come out with a statement declaring UMNO/BN opposition to Hadi’s private member’s bill suddenly evaporated in the past week?

In fact, Najib’s failure to announce UMNO/BN’s opposition to Hadi’s private member’s bill would itself be a tectonic shift in the cardinal nation-building policies which the country’s first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, the Barisan Nasional and before it, the Alliance, had previously espoused without any equivocation.

In fact, all the previous five Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah when they were Prime Ministers would have no hesitation to declare that hudud law is against the Malaysian Constitution and unsuitable for a multi-racial and multi-religious nation like Malaysia.

If Najib is not prepared to declare what the previous five Prime Ministers would have no hesitation in doing during their premiership, it means that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional under Najib has deviated from previous UMNO/BN policies.

Najib should be given another 48 hours up to the next Cabinet meeting on Friday to make his statement on the stand of UMNO/BN MPs on Hadi’s private member’s bill on hudud implementation in Kelantan, and if Najib continues to suffer from “labour pains” after seven days and unable to declare a clear stand that UMNO/BN opposes Hadi’s private member’s bill, then a new political scenario has set in.

This is a new political scenario which is post-Barisan Nasional and post-Pakatan Rakyat, as both coalitions would have been severely damaged by the UMNO “UG” (Unity government between UMNO and PAS) conspirators who had used the lure of hudud implementation to destabilize, divide and destroy Pakatan Raykat.

The question is whether MPs from both sides of the political divide as well as both sides of the South China Sea are prepared to take a stand to “Save Malaysia” to defend constitutionalism by coming together in a new coalition – going beyond BN and PR.

If there are sufficient numbers in such a new coalition exceeding a simple majority of the 222-seat Parliament, then there will be a new government coalition and a new Prime Minister.

Who will then be the Prime Minister? Clearly, Najib will not be the Prime Minister. The new PM can be from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak or Sabah – can be a man or a woman.