On Umno’s Selangor hudud bid, Pua asks if MCA just ‘flower vase’ in BN

(Malay Mail Online) – DAP’s Tony Pua asked today if MCA was admitting to be nothing but a voiceless “flower vase” in Barisan Nasional (BN) when its leaders called on the DAP to trash the hudud motion even though it was tabled by its own allies in Umno.

Pua, who is Selangor DAP chairman, also said Selangor MCA deputy chief Datuk Seri Donald Lim was wrong to blame state Speaker Hannah Yeoh for approving the hudud motion for tabling in the coming state legislative assembly sitting, which Lim said would be a waste of time.

“Lim should not forget that in any proper democracy, every elected representative have the right to be heard on the floor, regardless of how incredulous their proposals may be,” Pua said in a statement today.

“Secondly, if Datuk Seri Donald Lim thinks that the motion from BN is ‘nothing more than a waste of the public’s time and money’, he should tell that to his coalition partner and not the Selangor Speaker.

“The Speaker did not submit the motion. A BN-elected representative did,” added the DAP publicity chief.

Lim said yesterday that the DAP especially should be responsible over the controversial Islamic jurisprudence issue as the DAP and Islamist party PAS hold 15 seats each in Selangor’s 56-seat assembly. PKR has 14 seats.

“Is Datuk Seri Donald Lim finally admitting that MCA is nothing but a flower vase in BN, who has no voice and no influence over BN policies and principles?

“Is Lim conceding that they have failed to ensure that their coalition partner, Umno, will withdraw the motion for debate in the state assembly?” said Pua in response.

“Therefore, MCA appears to have finally accepted that it is only the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) which can stop the Umno-BN agenda to introduce the implementation of any religious penal code in Selangor,” added the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

Pua said DAP assemblymen in Selangor would reject the hudud motion in the state assembly.

In Selangor, BN is represented by 12 assemblymen, all from Umno. Umno and PAS together comprise 27 seats, almost half of the Selangor legislative assembly.

PAS’ Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said recently that the Islamist party only intends to implement hudud in Kelantan, which it has ruled for over two decades, and not in Malaysia as a whole or in other states.

Yesterday, Yeoh confirmed that the hudud motion was among three that she had approved for tabling for the coming state assembly meeting.

The state Speaker had previously confirmed on Tuesday that she received the hudud motion, along with three others, from Selangor Umno.

The party had decided to press ahead with the move on Tuesday, despite news reports of their intention drawing immediate backlash from its BN allies.