MCA and Gerakan are only half a step from allowing their State Assembly representatives to vote in support of hudud after they have agreed to Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen voting in support of hudud in Kelantan State Assembly

MCA and Gerakan are only half a step from allowing their State Assembly representatives to vote in support of hudud in the various State legislatures after they have agreed to Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen voting in support of hudud in Kelantan State Assembly in the next few days.

When UMNO Kelantan State Assembly representatives vote in support of Kelantan PAS hudud law in Kelantan in the Kelantan State Assembly on March 18 or 19, it will the D-Day for MCA, for it will be something the MCA and Gerakan founding fathers like Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu would never imagine would have happened in MCA and Gerakan – to agree directly or indirectly, explicitly or in a tacit manner, that Malaysia is not a secular state.

When MCA and Gerakan open the breach to agree to UMNO Kelantan State Assemblymen supporting PAS on hudud implementation in Kelantan, MCA and Gerakan would have set the precedent to allow UMNO State Assemblymen in other states to agree to hudud law and implementation.

If MCA and Gerakan can agree to UMNO Kelantan State Assemblymen voting to support PAS on hudud implementation in Kelantan State Assembly, it will be a precedent for MCA and Gerakan agreeing to UMNO State Assembly representatives in other states agreeing to hudud law and implementation.

We are then only half a step to MCA and Gerakan State Assembly representatives themselves voting in support of hudud law and implementation in the various State Assemblies.

If MCA and Gerakan have no objection to UMNO State Assembly representatives voting in support of hudud law and implantation in the various State Assemblies, how can MCA and Gerakan leadership object to MCA and Gerakan State Assembly representatives taking the half step of themselves voting in support of hudud law and implementation in the various State Assemblies?

Clearly, the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the Gerakan President, Datuk Mah Siew Keong and the entire MCA and Gerakan national leaderships have not thought through the far-reaching consequences of their Machiavellian tactics of tacitly giving support to UMNO Kelantan State Assembly representatives violating the founding principles of Barisan Nasional (and previously Alliance) that hudud is not in conformity with the bedrock principles of the Malaysian Constitution agreed to by the founding fathers from all races and religions in the country before the achievement of Merdeka in 1957 and formation of Malaysia in 1963.

If the MCA and Gerakan national leaders are men and women of principle, commitment and vision, I would ask them to convene emergency meetings not only of MCA and Gerakan Central Committees but also of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council to reaffirm their founding nation-building principles – which would be violated if Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen vote in support of hudud implementation in the Kelantan State Assembly.

But I would not do so, knowing the limitations, weaknesses and failings of the present MCA and Gerakan leaderships.

They are in fact giving “moderation” a bad name, proclaiming their support for moderation when they are in fact prepared to betray the “moderate” founding principles of their party founders, like Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu.

Moderate Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, will ask all political parties to be constant, consistent and principled in their politics.

MCA and Gerakan agreeing to Kelantan UMNO State Assembly representatives to vote in support of Kelantan PAS on hudud law and implementation in Kelantan is a violation of MCA, Gerakan and Barisan Nasional founding principles.

DAP agreeing to Kelantan PAS State Assembly representatives to vote in support of hudud law and implementation in Kelantan after the formation of Pakatan Rakyat in 2008 will be a violation of DAP principles and PR Common Policy Framework.

DAP is constant, consistent and principled in the stand that hudud law and implementation is not in accordance with the PR Common Policy Framework and the Malaysian Constitution.

But MCA, Gerakan together with UMNO, have deviated from the UMNO, MCA, Gerakan and BN founding principles that hudud law and implementation are against the fundamental principles of the Malaysian Constitution.

Can MCA and Gerakan Presidents and leaders justify the betrayal of the founding principles and stand of their respective parties and founding fathers?

It is very short-sighted, selfish and utter betrayal of the MCA and Gerakan founding principles for the present generation of MCA and Gerakan leaderships to play the game of the UMNO “UG” (Unity Government of UMNO and PAS) plotters to use hudud to divide, destabilise and destroy Pakatan Rakyat so as to save UMNO/BN in the 14the General Elections.

Can they pull back at the precipice?

Lim Kit Siang DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Gelang Patah