DAP, listen! Listen! Listen!
Adrian Lim Chee En, The Heat Malaysia
DAP is at a crossroad – they must make a decision to maintain Penang and its traditional Chinese votes at the expense of Putrajaya, or try to win Federal Government with fellow opposition parties in the next GE at the expense of the stability it enjoys in Penang currently.
If the goal is to secure its traditional Chinese and urban voters, then it makes sense for DAP to continue what it is doing- championing Chinese issues.
However, if it decides to set its sight on Putrajaya in GE14, then it must move beyond its traditional approach and work together with Amanah,PKR and even possibly Pas.
Umno the main party of the ruling coalition is the master at dividing and conquering, and DAP should minimise itself from falling flat-faced into its trap.
DAP must learn from past mistakes and stop blaming Umno, even if Umno is wrong.
When the proposal for PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s bill to be moved forward was raised, this time however, MCA, MIC, SUPP and Gerakan was ahead of DAP in their cries of opposition.
Knowing that the core of DAP’s votes come from the Chinese, BN knows that the gung ho opposition against hudud from MCA, MIC, Gerakan and SUPP would soon force DAP to enter a more aggressive mode than the non-Malay BN parties against ‘Hudud’, inevitably fortifying itself as “anti-Islam”.
With the by-elections around the corner, any opposition parties whether Amanah or PKR which is seen to be in association with DAP will bear the brunt of DAP’s image as “anti-Islam”.
At this juncture, it is crucial to know that what Hadi tabled was not Hudud per se, but amendments to possibly allow Hudud punishments be implemented in (except for death penalties).
In the proposed amendments is the vagueness to remove safeguards limiting the powers of the Syariah Court. At present, the Syariah Courts are limited to sentencing six strokes of rotan or a maximum RM5,000 penalty.
For a start, DAP must understand that Syariah is part of the tenets of Islam, and as such, threading carelessly would assist Umno in fortifying allegations that DAP is anti-Islam.
The discussion among Muslims is not whether to object or support Hudud, but whether it is suitable in Malaysia at this point in time.
Hence, the questions DAP should harp on is the suitability of Hudud in Malaysia, not opposing Hudud per se. In the current context, DAP should be questioning whether Hudud is suitable in light of such high poverty in Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak. Hadi himself has in the past admitted that amongst the other important things to fulfil beforehand is minimum wages.
To put this into context, imagine Pas rejecting pork consumption outrightly. What would the Chinese feel? Now compare this to Pas opposing consumption of pork in areas near mosques.
Surely, the Chinese would be more tolerant and acceptable towards opposition of pork consumption in areas near the mosque, rather than an outright ban, right?
Umno must think twice before giving an equivocal answer to Hudud. Instead of bearing the brunt, let UMNO take the brunt and make Umno seem as a hypocritical political party that claims to champion the rights of Malays and Muslims.
If DAP wants to maintain its core and be satisfied with Penang, then it makes perfect sense. But if Putrajaya is still in sight, then DAP’s approach must change.
