I do not believe that PAS has the numbers for PAS President and MP for Marang Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill on hudud implementation in the May meeting of Parliament.
As Hadi was reported by Malaysiakini today, he had previously presented a similar private member’s bill in Parliament in 1996, but it had remained on the Dewan Rakyat Order Paper and never went to the stage of being presented to Parliament for debate let alone for a vote.
I believe the same will happen in the May meeting of Parliament where Hadi’s hudud private member’s bill motion will appear and remain in the Dewan Rakyat Order Paper but will not reach the stage of being presented to Parliament for debate and vote.
Hadi’s hudud private member’s bill motion will only be able to progress beyond appearing on the Order Paper to be presented to Parliament for debate and vote if the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government decides that parliamentary time be given to it – which will present a double major crack in Malaysian politics, firstly in the Barisan Nasional, in particular for the Sabah and Sarawak component parties of BN, and secondly, even more critical, a major crisis point for the survival of the Malaysian federation since its formation 52 years ago in 1963.
Even for Hadi’s hudud private member’s bill motion to appear on the Parliamentary Order Paper in May without reaching the stage of a debate and vote will represent a continuing crisis for Pakatan Rakyat, for it will be another instance of a major breach of the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework as well as the PR consensus principle.
Hadi has defended his unilateral private member’s bill motion in the March/April meeting of Parliament, claiming that it was normal for him to keep PAS leaders in the dark about the private member’s bill motion as this was also what happened in 1996.
He said that in 1996, his private member’s bill motion was also not brought to the attention of the other PAS leaders.
I do not want to be involved in the internal PAS polemics, resulting from PAS’ Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad’s accusation that Hadi had sidelined the party leadership by failing to bring the private member’s bill for discussion at the PAS central committee and that even PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali was not in the loop on Hadi’’s private bill motion in the March/April meeting of Parliament.
However, what Pakatan Rakyat is concerned is the specific commitment by Hadi at the PR Leadership Council meeting at PAS Headquarters on Feb. 8, 2015 where the PR Leadership Council took the unanimous decision that any amendments to the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Enactment in the Kelantan State Assembly or any private member’s bill in Parliament on hudud implementation will be presented first to the PR Leadership Council.
Both these commitments have not been honoured by Hadi, although he represented PAS at the PR Leadership Council meeting on Feb. 8, 2015.
If serious and solemn commitments made by PR leaders at the PR Leadership Council are openly ignored and violated, how can PR continue to operate as a viable political coalition or continue to command the respect and support of the people at large?
This is the root cause of the PR crisis which will spell the survival or demise of the Pakatan Rakyat.
(Speech to Malaysian students in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday 18th April 2015 at 8pm)