As Pakatan fumbles over hudud, Kit Siang moots new ‘Save Malaysia’ unity-government

(Malay Mail Online) – Faced with an imminent break up of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) over the hudud controversy, Lim Kit Siang suggested tonight the formation of a new government by a “Save Malaysia” coalition to comprise lawmakers from both sides of the political divide.

Stressing that the suggestion was his personal view, the veteran DAP politician noted that both PR and Barisan Nasional (BN) appear to be torn in their support for hudud, the Islamic penal code that PAS intends to implement in Kelantan.

In PR, he said PAS and its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang have openly disregarded their party’s cooperation with DAP and PKR by refusing to abandon its hudud ambition.

BN appears no different, Lim observed, citing contradicting remarks from Umno politicians over their support for the Islamic law, and the clear show of opposition from the ruling party’s partners in the pact such as MCA, Gerakan and other east Malaysian parties.

“Suddenly, Malaysian politics on both sides of the political divide seems to be in no man’s land,” the DAP adviser said in his speech from tonight’s dinner in Bukit Bintang.

“But in such a new political scenario where (Umno president and prime minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) announces Umno’s support for the PAS’s hudud enactment, maybe the time has come for a new ‘Save Malaysia’ coalition comprising MPs from both sides of the political divide,” he said.

The new coalition, Lim explained, would go on to form a new federal government with a new prime minister that could come from either side of the divide.

He added that the pact’s objectives would be specifically to defend the Federal Constitution and uphold the rule of law.

Lim also continued to berate Hadi for pressing ahead with PAS’s hudud bill in Parliament, saying again that the Islamist party leader had acted in clear violation of PR’s agreement when the pact was formed in 2008.

He noted that in PR’s joint statement on September 28, 2011, the pact’s leaders had agreed to disagree on the subject of PAS’s hudud agenda, and that any policy regarding the controversial criminal justice system would first have to be discussed before it is implemented.

“The PR Leadership Joint Statement… did not empower Hadi to unilaterally violate the PR Common Policy Framework,” he maintained.

PAS-ruled Kelantan passed key amendments to its Shariah Criminal Code II 1993 on Thursday in a move to enable the eventual implementation of hudud in the Malay-majority east coast state.

All 12 Umno state lawmakers voted for the amendments but the ruling party’s national leadership has yet to declare if the same support would be given to PAS’s hudud ambition at the federal level.

Next week, all BN component parties including Umno are expected to issue a joint statement to declare its position on the controversial issue.

The statement is expected to precede PAS’s attempt to table a private members’ Bill in the ongoing Parliament session that will enable Kelantan to carry out punishments under hudud. Among others, the Islamic criminal justice system prescribes amputation as punishment for crimes like stealing.

Hadi had earlier this week served notice to Parliament on the proposed Bill but BN’s law minister Datuk Nancy Shukri said it may not make it into the order paper for the current session as there are many others on the schedule.

PAS only has 21 MPs in the lower House and would need to rely on Muslim MPs from other parties in order to get a simple majority of 112 votes to get the Bill passed.

Tomorrow, DAP’s national central executive committee (CEC) will hold a meeting to discuss its position in PR following PAS’s hudud manoeuvre in Kelantan.