The art of politics
The antagonistic posture between MCA and DAP, and an apparent lack of unified stand among PKR, Bersatu and Amanah all give Umno more room to maneuver its plans.
Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily
Politics is a form of art that turns the impossible into possible. Umno is right now practicing this “art of politics” in the RUU355 amendment issue.
Umno leaders are well aware that if they were to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 as per the proposals of PAS president Hadi Awang, a political storm will be right there waiting for them, and could likely culminate in the collapse of the BN coalition.
To survive and to ensure its power remains intact, Umno has no choice but to bow to Hadi’s conditions in hope of banking on the issue to consolidate its support among rural voters.
Even as the tabling of RUU355 amendment bill is about to take place, Najib keeps mum over it. There have been no definite statements on the amendment bill content so as to leave some space for last-minute backdoor negotiations to make the necessary adjustments to bring destruction to a minimum. Hopefully all the hurdles will be overcome and Umno can then set its sights on further cooperation with PAS in the next general elections.
Firstly, the bill is said to be specifically applicable to West Malaysians only. Apparently this condition has been set out to reassure BN component parties in East Malaysia, in view of the strong opposition especially from PBB president Abang Johari. In the absence of resistance from East Malaysia, Najib has good faith the amendment bill will get adopted in the Dewan Rakyat.
In the event BN becomes divided, the East Malaysian allies will no longer lend their support to Umno, and this is detrimental to Umno’s hold to power. Consequently Umno must come up with some more assurances to soften the stance of its East Malaysian allies.
Secondly, the bill is also said to be applicable only to Muslims while the punishments proposed by Hadi Awang have been toned down slightly in a bid to reassure MCA, Gerakan Rakyat and MIC.
MCA and other BN component parties have been strongly against wholesale adoption of Hadi Awang’s proposals, worrying that the lives of non-Muslims in this country will be affected.
Umno has made the modification to appease its allies in Peninsular Malaysia.
Najib has also taken into account the feelings of Hadi, who once said his party would first see if the government’s amendment bill was consistent with his party’s before deciding whether to support the bill.
As such, the punishments in the government’s amendment bill will only be marginally lighter, including increased fine from RM5,000 to RM50,000 (instead of RM100,000), 100 strokes of caning from six (unchanged) and up to 20 or 30 years in jail from three years (Hadi proposed 30 years).
The ultimate goal of Hadi Awang is to implement the hudud, but this is not going to happen without a hand from Umno. Umno will therefore harness this to dissolve the resistance from within PAS.
Many agree that Najib is an expert in diplomacy, as evidenced by the recovery of the black box and victims’ bodies in the MH17 air disaster incident. He is now extending this strength to defuse a looming political crisis.
Najib has been carrying out his plans very cautiously. He has been keeping the amendment bill content under wraps in order to assess the risks as well as the acceptance in the BN and Parliament.
As a matter of fact, RUU355 amendment had its start in 2014. A technical committee was established between the federal and Kelantan governments to explore technical issues pertaining to the implementation of hudud. The maneuver requires a great deal of patience and this thing has taken them three whole years to deploy.
The delicate political situation at this moment is favorable to Umno. SPDP President Tiong King Sing declared late last year that his party would endorse Hadi Awang’s private bill on RUU355 amendment. The party has a total of four parliamentarians.
The situation in Sabah is equally complicated. With own political interests taking precedence, the outcome is anything but predictable.
The antagonistic posture between MCA and DAP, and an apparent lack of unified stand among PKR, Bersatu and Amanah all give Umno more room to maneuver its plans.
When opposition parties deliver their ceramahs in rural areas and Felda settlements, they only talk about 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion political donations while averting the sensitive RUU355, thus allowing Umno and PAS to have dominance over the topic. if expanding the jurisdiction of syariah courts becomes a core issue in the Malay community, it could very likely be the last straw for Umno and PAS to clutch at.
The current parliamentary session has been extended by two days to April 12 mostly to facilitate the tabling of the RUU355 amendment bill. All the developments will begin to fall into place over the next two weeks, We will see whether Umno’s strategies will eventually be paid off or MCA and other BN components will succeed in blocking their advances.
