An Islamic State over my Dead Body
Karamjit Ghill
“An Islamic State over my dead body” – famous words from the late Karpal Singh, the “Tiger of Jelutong” that stirred the whole nation once upon a time. These were not just words uttered but represented a stand by undoubtedly one of Malaysia’s greatest ever politician. Sadly, with the passing of Karpal, those words have passed on with him. What looked like principles of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) once upon a time is starting to look like it was instead a stand from a fearless individual rather than the entire organization. DAP definitely seems to have lost its tooth following the departure of their National Chairman.
BACK THEN…
In 2011, the then PKR vice president, Tian Chua said that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition collectively agreed that their fight is strictly to uphold the Federal Constitution. This means there was never an agreement by all three allies to the idea of establishing an Islamic state or implementing hudud law. They took it a step further before the last General Election by convincing the public that PAS has agreed to shelve the idea of tabling hudud law which today has been proven to be just an electioneering strategy to woo the voters in their favour.
BUT NOW…
All the while, DAP who claims to be the only party with real multiracial ideology has been against implementation of an Islamic state with hudud law. They even threatened to leave the Pakatan Rakyat coalition if the hudud law is tabled. While PKR’s only ambition seem to be freeing their supreme leader Anwar Ibrahim, PAS put a deaf ear on those threats by DAP and tabled the bill in the Kelantan State Assembly. DAP then had to just swallow the bitter pill of reality. But wait? What do they tell their voters? To buy some time, DAP then said they will withdraw from Pakatan Rakyat if Hudud is passed. PKR continued to rally against the government on Anwar while the PAS-dominated Kelantan assembly passed the bill unanimously.
What does DAP do now? The latest game plan is DAP will withdraw if hudud is implemented. So now it seems DAP has severed ties with Hadi but is still in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition with PAS. Very complex relationship they share. It clearly seems like DAP is becoming the next MCA. Being in a limbo, what can DAP do? Lim Kit Siang has started his roulette by claiming this situation has come about because of “UMNO’s unity government plot”. Definitely having a problem with selective reading, Lim is yet to realise that UMNO and other BN parliamentarians themselves have spoken against the implementation of hudud law. Today, comes the suggestion of “Save Malaysia” coalition where Lim has invited MPs from BN to join hands and uphold the Federal Constitution.
Seriously? A little while ago nobody from the BN coalition was right but today open arm invitations are given to be allies. Maybe Lim Kit Siang should retire from politics and venture into scriptwriting in the entertainment industry.
I promise you Sir, I will watch all your movies because they will definitely have a good plot with twists and turns that may shame Ocean’s Eleven.
We knew the demise of Karpal Singh is a loss to the nation. But to what cost? It is for sure becoming crystal clear now.
