EDITOR'S NOTE: DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke had called on PAS to withdraw from Pakatan Rakyat if it insists on implementing hudud and ignores the consensus of the coalition. Wanita MCA national chairman Datuk Heng Seai Kie writes a reply.
What will DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke do if PAS not only refuses to leave Pakatan, but still insists on implementing hudud law? Or are his threats nothing more than a political gimmick for him to achieve personal publicity?
I would like to remind Loke that before the 13th General Election, he had repeatedly assured the non-Muslim voters that they need not be afraid of PAS' hudud law as long as they do not steal or rob. Thus, what is his stand now on the case whereby an Indian woman had her son kidnapped from her by her Muslim husband and was never victimised although she had never stolen or robbed? Does Loke still stand by what he said? Otherwise, he should apologise to the voters for misleading them.
His call to PAS to leave Pakatan has made me curious. Is this his own personal stand or is it DAP's? If it is the latter, why was this threat not made by DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng?
Also, should PAS decide to ignore these threats and go ahead with its plan to implement hudud, what is Loke or DAP going to do about it?
Besides that, on a more serious note, if PAS does leave Pakatan, will DAP then allow and agree with PAS' move to implement hudud because they are no longer in Pakatan?
As PAS hudud law is a constitutional tragedy which will jeapordise the stability of our nation's multiracial policy, I would like to urge DAP that if they are neither prepared nor sincere enough to defend non-Muslim rights, and if they do not have the accountability or the courage to fulfill their political responsibility to stop their own ally, then they should at least have the dignity to stop playing meaningless political stunts in an effort to mislead and confuse our people.
Instead of merely calling for PAS to leave Pakatan, DAP should take practical action to stop them from tabling the private members' Bill when Parliament convenes this June. If DAP, being Pakatan's biggest component party with the most parliamentary seats; i.e. 38 (PKR 30, PAS 21), still fails to do so, then for the good of the people as a nation, they might as well dissolve themselves and retire from politics.
This is because what happened today has proven that in the past General Election, due to all the lies given by DAP leaders to cover for PAS by claiming that the welfare state concept will replace hudud law, many voters, especially the Chinese, women and non-Muslims had been misled to support PAS, thus strengthening PAS and leading to the constitutional crisis today.
Therefore, do not assume that DAP will be accountable and answerable for what is happening today. What is more disappointing to us is the evasive and cowardly attitude by Guan Eng towards this issue, until today.
Besides that, Loke should also prove that he is not spouting empty threats by setting a deadline for PAS to answer them, so that we can have a clear expectation.
Astro Awani
Sat Apr 26 2014
PAS plans to implement hudud in Kelantan.
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