By Lim Kit Siang, MP for Gelang Patah
Two days ago, I gave the MCA Deputy President Datuk Dr. Wee Kee Siong a free double advice: Don’t tell a bare-faced lie and don’t be caught immediately with such downright dishonesty.
This was when Ka Siong tried to rebut my statement in Batu Pahat on Sunday that the MCA President, Liow Tiong Lai had missed a “golden opportunity” to say “No” in front of the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday that MCA cannot accept Najib’s earlier unilateral and arbitrary announcement in Alor Star that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud.
This was because what Najib said was not the original Barisan Nasional stand, and furthermore, violates an important BN principle that any change of Barisan Nasional policy must be the result of the consensus of all component parties and not unilaterally and arbitrarily by any one party, even if it is UMNO.
As I told Ka Siong, what Najib said was never the Barisan Nasional Federal Government’s stand, even going back to the UMNO, MCA and MIC founders like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun V.T. Sambanthan as they were very clear that hudud was inconsistent with the secular 1957 constitution and would never say like Najib that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud.
Now I am offering the MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai two additional free advice – don’t distort other people’s statements and be “caught” immediately.
Yesterday, Liow said I was only worried about the split in Pakatan Rakyat and not the Malaysian constitution while addressing the hudud issue.
Liow is trying to split hairs or he does not have the IQ to understand that there is no contradiction at all in saying that if PAS insists on implementation of hudud, which is not part of the Pakatan Rakyat common policy framework, the Pakatan Rakyat might break apart as this is both against the PR common policy framework and the fundamental principles of the Malaysian Constitution.
According to the MCA paper Star today, Liow said that he had personally seen the Prime Minister to tell him that MCA oppose the implementation of PAS’ hudud.
This is precisely the point. Liow is very brave to tell Najib that MCA opposes PAS’ hudud but he dare not tell Najib that MCA also opposes the Prime Minister’s statement in Alor Star that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government never rejected hudud issue as this was never the Barisan Nasional stand.
In fact, I never agree more with the former MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek who suggested that Liow, as the president of the second biggest component party in the ruling coalition, must “spearhead the charge” by leading a delegation of representatives from Chinese-based parties in the BN to meet the Prime Minister.
Chua said the delegation must impress upon the Prime Minister that these parties oppose the implementation of hudud and that such a move would run foul of the 1Malaysia concept.
Chua also suggested that Liow should push for this to be raised at the BN supreme council.
Most of the parties in BN are non-Muslim in terms of composition and they will disagree as well.
Would Liow act on Chua’s advice?
Barisan Nasional comprise of 13 component parties, and if it comes to a vote on the implementation of hudud, whether PAS or UMNO, the vote is likely to be 1 vs 12, with UMNO the only political party solely in favour with 12 other component parties against.
Why is Liow afraid, to use Chua’s words, to “spearhead the charge” and requisition a Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting to vote against Najib and UMNO’s stand that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud?
