by Howard Lee
The very fact that MCA’s current leadership is taking an offensive line exclusively targeting PAS is concrete evidence that MCA is but the ball-and-chained slave of UMNO, in doing their despicable bidding of deepening religious and racial polarisation.
Despite PAS being DAP’s ally, we have had no reservations in saying and doing the needful in maintaining our long-standing and unshakable principles.
We acknowledge PAS Parliamentarian’s unalienable right to uphold their beliefs. The implications on our alliance is another matter, as we subscribe to the late Karpal Singh’s stand of ‘no permanent friends or enemies, there are only permanent principles’.
We remain steadfast in upholding social justice, universal equality and the highest law of the land; the Federal Constitution. We do so, even at the face of impending jeopardy of our alliance with PAS. Such consistency is something that MCA has failed to do in times of past, and in these dark times before us.
As UMNO’s ally, MCA is in a position of influence to potentially put this to rest once and for all. But instead we hear deafening silence from MCA and MIC. They are not taking on Syahidan Kassim and Jamil Khir Baharom the instigator-generals of this venomous politics of polarisation. Let’s be sadly reminded of their dare to PAS; a trap set with the purpose of breaking Pakatan Rakyat, which PAS has walked squarely into.
It must also be revealed that UMNO’s intention in setting this trap is not just to break Pakatan Rakyat, but to propel racial politics to irreversible extremes.
MCA being longstanding allies and partners-in-crime, knows this only too well. If they don’t know this, they are even more worthless. The truth is, they are fully aware, but are too cowardly and self-preserving to act. Worse still, they are prostituting themselves even more so to their longstanding client UMNO, by antics such as ‘a million anti-hudud signatures’, and demonisation of PAS when they are still pants-down-with-a-gag-in-mouth in bed with the devil we know too well.
DAPSY Perak hereby would like to say to MCA this; tell UMNO that if the federal government goes through with supporting the bill, or facilitating this unconstitutional agenda, you will see the withdrawal of MCA from BARISAN NASIONAL.
This is the time for MCA to reclaim the minute dignity it may have, and regain an ounce of relevance amongst Malaysians. This is also the time no unchain yourselves from the shackles of UMNO, of course at the cost of ministerships and the comfort of being in government.
UMNO’s agenda in this grand scheme and this insistence of theirs is to prime their ultimate weapon to realise ‘aasabiyah’ (discriminatory segregation), and race-based politics, which is un-Islamic.
I would like to share a quote from Hadis al-Suyuti’s collection known as al-Jâmi’ al-Saghir narration No. 7684. The integrity of the report is hasan (good and reliable).
“Telah bertanya seorang lelaki, wahai Rasulullah s.a.w adakah asabiyyah itu mencintai kaumnya? Sabda Nabi, tidak. Tetapi asabiyyah itu adalah seorang yang menolong kaumnya di atas kezaliman.”
“Bukan dari golongan kami sesiapa yang menyeru kepada asabiyyah dan bukan daripada kami sesiapa yang membunuh (berperang) kerana asabiyyah dan bukan dari kami sesiapa yang mati di atas dasar asabiyyah.”
A translation of the verses reads as follows:
The Prophew p.b.u.h was asked if asabiyyah is loving one’s nation. The Prophet answered, no. Asabiyyah is to support your nation (or tribe) in oppression.
“He is not one of us who calls for Asabiyyah, (nationalism/tribalism) or who fights for Asabiyyah or who dies for Asabiyyah”.
* Howard Lee Chuan How is the State Assemblyman for Pasir Pinji, Perak.
