MCA president blackmails Najib and declares war against Muslims

The Third Force

Last Friday, Dato’ Seri Liow Tiong Lai became the first MCA president in history to issue a caveat against Malaysian Muslims and a sitting Prime Minister. The message between the lines was clear – “you go with the Syariah Amenment Bill — a.k.a. ‘The Hudud Bill’ — and we’ll fight you tooth, nail and claw.”

The MCA president was referring to the tabling of a Private Member’s Bill by Tuan Guru Dato’ Seri Haji Abdul Hadi Awang in Parliament. Last Thursday, Hadi tabled a Bill seeking to replace existing provisions in the Syariah court’s criminal jurisdiction to allow the Islamic bench to mete justice beyond family related matters.

None of the provisions in the Bill had anything to do with the actual implementation of Hudud law in Kelantan. But Liow and a host of other MCA leaders — and not to mention, the party’s official mouthpiece, The Star — came out in full force to pull a heavily warped screen over the eyes of Malaysians. They falsely implied that the Bill, once legislated, would plunge the nation into Islamic fundamentalism.

As if that didn’t cause enough ripples, Liow went on to position himself against the Bill in a manner that was patronising and against the spirit of togetherness in Barisan Nasional (BN). He urged politicians from across the political divide to come together to stop the Bill, and in the process, turned his caveat against Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak into blackmail by pressuring the PM to compromise.

“If we cannot do it, we will have to sacrifice. I will resign,” he added.

But would his resignation really be a bad thing?

Many of the issues Liow raised last Friday were unprecedented, in a sense that the MCA has for the first time publicly challenged UMNO and the PM against allowing Muslims in Malaysia to realise the full scope of the Syaria. Liow put his foot down, insisting that the amendment of the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 above existing penalties “violates the spirit of the Federal Constitution.”

Let me run that by you again – Liow is saying that the act of granting Syariah courts allowance to broaden their jurisdiction in Islamic jurisprudence is against the spirit of the Federal Constitution. In other words, should the disputed Bill be voted in, it does not violate tenets to the Federal Constitution in any way – it’s just not conventional, and that’s all there is to it.

But that’s different from saying that the act of passing the Bill is unconstitutional. Take note, these are two very different abstractions that pertain to the supremacy of the Federal Constitution.

Let me give you an example – if I were to, say, rape a girl, it would constitute as a criminal offence under Malaysian law. By that token, my act of raping the girl would go against the basic tenets and approach of criminal jurisprudence. In no way can the rape be construed as an act ‘against the spirit of criminal jurisprudence’. If that were to be the case, then, the jury would forever be out as to whether the rape can be construed as criminal or otherwise.

Get my drift?

Of course, there may be other interpretations, perhaps even objections to the analogy I have just presented. But the point remains – Liow was deliberately being vague by talking about ‘the spirit of the Federal Constitution’ rather than being concise and keeping to the point. And that vagueness is the loophole he is now steering MCA through, in his bid to appear righteous and the infallible champion of the Chinese community.

The truth is, amending the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 is a matter for the August House to deliberate on, as the Federal Constitution clearly grants Parliament the power to make laws. That power is exercised by House Representatives when they pass Bills through Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara.

Another way of putting it is this – Parliament, by virtue of the Federal Constitution, is granted the right to table, debate and legislate a Bill, be it a Private Member’s Bill or any other Bill for that matter. This right is exercised by Members of Parliament (MPs) as and when the need arises, within the confines of Parliament and not in public spheres.

By blackmailing Najib or government in public against voting the Bill in, Liow clearly postured himself in contempt of the Federal Constitution and Parliament. What he did, he did with his eyes open – he attempted to make feeble the rights accorded by the Federal Constitution to Parliament in bringing a Bill into effect.

It stands to reason that when you threaten the PM or MP’s against voting a Bill into law, you’re inadvertently infusing irrational suspicion or paranoia into the August House. By that token, last Friday, Liow subverted Parliament by bringing pressure to bear on House representatives against their better judgment.

In simple terms, by threatening to resign as Cabinet minister, Liow irrevocably damaged the Private Member’s Bill that Hadi tabled last Thursday – he stirred hatred among non-Muslim MP’s against UMNO, PAS, Hadi and the Muslims, and by virtue of that, the Bill can never be debated without prejudice.

Forget the element of subversion – which is just what it is – Liow has more or less told non-Muslims that UMNO and PAS are conspiring to infuse Islamic fundamentalism into Malaysian law. So, it is not irrational for me to say that Malaysian Muslims are now estranged from the non-Muslims, all because of the misconception that PAS has colluded with UMNO to enforce the Islamic Penal Code and to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state.

So what was all the bullshit about upholding ‘the spirit of the Federal Constitution’? How can Liow preach about the spirit of the Federal Charter when he himself bludgeoned through its pillars? He speaks about the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, but dices the Charter and selectively picks out portions that suit his intrigues.

Did he forget Article 121(1A), which grants a dual system of law in Malaysia, or Article 3, which provisions that Islamic law is a matter for the state with the exception of the Federal Territories of Malaysia? What fooking spirit is he talking about?

Come to think of it, isn’t BN itself founded on the spirit of togetherness? Isn’t it true that a core basis to its perseverance is the element of unity, made possible by its steadfast adherence to the principle of consensus? Decisions made have to be collective, be it in Parliament, Cabinet or the supreme council. Isn’t that what BN has been about all these years? So who the hell is Liow to issue caveats against the PM in public?

As a matter of fact, the spirit of consensus has been the glue that kept BN from falling apart at the seams. If Liow has a problem constraining himself within decorum, shouldn’t he show himself through the door? Either he drags MCA along with him, or he quits the party and goes to blazes, I really don’t care. But why drag BN through the mud?

I shan’t go further with this article – it’s pissing me off already. I’ll just say this – Liow has inadvertently declared war against Muslim Malaysians, and somebody’s head has to roll! I implore Najib not to take this lying down and to make a firm stand against Liow and MCA.