It is the right of the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to talk about his aim for PAS to win at least 40 Parliamentary seats in the next general election, but it is the height of irresponsibility in a plural society for any political leader to pander to either Islamophobia or non-Islamophobia.
This is because there must be no Islamophobia or non-Islamophobia if Malaysia is to succeed as a nation to achieve her full potentials benefitting from the diversity and confluence of the world’s great religions, cultures and civilisations in Malaysia.
Hadi has the right to talk of his expectation that PAS will win 40 parliamentary seats, just as it is the right of others who prognosticate that PAS may even lose the Kelantan state government which PAS had ruled for five consecutive general elections since 1990 under the late Tok Guru Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who was both Kelantan Mentri Besar in all the five general election battles and PAS Mursidul Am.
Not only that, there is also the forecast that PAS would possibly face the worst electoral defeat in the next general elections in the 14GE under Hadi’s leadership.
It is regrettable that Hadi seems to be promoting a form of non-Islamophobia when he said in a special address in Kedah that the PAS’ previous political consensus with Pakatan Rakyat allies PKR and DAP had achieved the best result so far for the Opposition, but had resulted in a political imbalance.
He said: “Do you realise how the situation was with the seats? Unknowing, the 89 Opposition seats were 21 seats for PAS, 30 for PKR, and 38 for DAP.”
He asked: “Is it fair for this country, the government is governed by Muslims in 39 seats, with non-Muslims having a larger share? This is not right.”
The PAS President was referring to the 39 Muslim MPs among the 89 seats currently held by the Opposition in the Dewan Rakyat.
Hadi claimed that non-Muslims can take over the country if they win 30 more seats in the next elections.
“In the 89 seats held by opposition, only 39 are held by Muslims, while 50 are by non-Muslims,” he said.
By swaying 30 additional MPs, non-Muslims can determine the outcome of a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament and form a new government where only 39 MPs are Muslim while 80 are not.
Hadi’s wily illogic is most astounding as Hadi’s perverted electoral exposition is the height of political irresponsibility.
In the first place, I have not encountered or heard any effort or attempt to get 30 Barisan Nasional non-Muslim MPs to defect and join up with the 89 MPs from DAP, PKR and PAS in a vote of no confidence against Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament to oust him as Prime Minister.
Secondly, even if the impossible had happened, with 30 BN non-Muslim MPs defecting to support the Opposition in a vote of no confidence against Najib in Parliament, would there be the simple majority of at least 112 votes to secure victory for the vote of no confidence against Najib in the 222-seat Parliament?
This is impossible, for even with 30 BN non-Muslim MPs’ defection and support for vote of no confidence against Najib in Parliament, there will be no majority for the vote of no confidence, as Hadi as PAS President would have directed the 21 PAS MPs (before the establishment of Parti Amanah) to vote in support of Najib, to use Hadi’s own words, “to defend Islam and to ensure Muslims are in position of power”.
It is fortunate that Parliamentary Opposition Leader and PKR President Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Was Ismails’ no confidence motion against Najib two years ago never came to a vote, for Hadi would have directed the 21 PAS MPs to defeat Azizah’s motion.
With Hadi’s mindset for the 21 PAS MPs to reject any vote of confidence against Najib in Parliament “to defend Islam and to ensure Muslims are in position of power”, there was never any possibility of a vote of no confidence against Najib succeeding in Parliament, especially when getting 30 BN non-Muslim MPs to defect and support a no-confidence motion against Najib would itself have been an impossible hurdle to clear.
As the overwhelming majority of some 65% of the 222 MPs in Parliament are Muslims, only Hadi can explain why he is resorting to a subtle form non-Islamophobia to create fear among Muslim voters for non-Muslim elected representatives.