Jangan masuk perangkap UMNO...

DAP memberi amaran kepada rakan sekutunya PAS agar jangan jatuh ke dalam perangkap Umno berhubung isu pelaksanaan hudud di Kelantan.

Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng sebaliknya berkata PAS perlu berfikir panjang kesannya jika mempercayai Umno selepas Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom bersetuju untuk membantu PAS membentang hudud di Parlimen.

Katanya, tindakan PAS itu seolah-olah cuba mengkhianati sokongan undi bukan Melayu terhadap kemenangan parti itu semasa Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13) 5 Mei lalu.

 "PAS hanya menambah jurang risiko perpecahan dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang selama ini diidamkan Umno," katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Tegasnya, PAS mungkin akan kehilangan Kelantan sama seperti mereka kehilangan Terengganu semasa PRU 2004 selepas meluluskan undang-undang hudud pada tahun 2003.

Malah tidak mustahil semua kerusi yang dimenangi PAS melalui sokongan bukan Melayu di luar Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis dan Kedah.

Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang itu juga mengulangi pendiriannya bahawa DAP sama sekali tidak akan berganjak dengan keputusan untuk menentang hudud di Kelantan dan Terengganu.

"Ia bertentangan dengan Perlembagaan dan semangat kemerdekaan 1957 dalam konteks perpaduan antara kaum, kepelbagaian agama dan masyarakat pelbagai budaya," katanya.

Lim turut membidas Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang yang berpandangan Pakatan Rakyat dan DAP bersetuju hudud dilaksanakan pada tahun 2011.

Katanya, Hadi tersilap dan menggesa supaya meneliti kenyataan Pakatan Rakyat yang menyatakan secara jelas mengenai perbezaan pandangan DAP dengan PAS dan membantah hudud.

"DAP akan terus bekerja dengan pemimpin PAS dan menekankan kita tidak pernah bersetuju dengan undang-undang hudud di Kelantan dan Terengganu sebelum atau selepas terbentuknya Pakatan Rakyat pada tahun 2008," tegasnya.

Cubaan beberapa ahli Parlimen PAS membentangkan undang-undang persendirian di Dewan Rakyat dengan harapan hudud dapat dilaksanakan di Kelantan menimbulkan semula ketegangan antara PKR dan DAP.

Gabungan tiga parti itu menafikan kemenangan Barisan Nasional (BN) di dua negeri iaitu Selangor dan Kelantan semasa PRU13.

Ramai yang menjangkakan ahli Parlimen Umno akan menyokong rang undang-undang hudud yang akan dibentangkan PAS selepas Jamil Khir dan Pengerusi Umno Kelantan Tan Sri Annuar Musa menyatakan sokongan terbuka.

Umno mempunyai 88 ahli Parlimen manakala PAS ada 22, namun dilihat masih kekurangan 39 ahli untuk dijadikan undi majoriti dua pertiga sebelum diluluskan Parlimen. – tmi

UMNO using hudud to break up Pakatan...

PAS insiders are blaming Umno for incessantly goading the Islamist party to try to implement  hudud, leading to an open spat with its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies now.

Former Kelantan exco member and PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa told The Malaysian Insider that he believed Umno was trying to break up the PR alliance with the issue, which cropped up in 1990 and in 2001.

"They are determined to get us to fight with DAP. A break-up will naturally benefit Umno as both of us are Muslim parties," he said, without wanting to be drawn further on the consequences of PAS leaving Pakatan.

Husam said he did not think the private member's bill planned for Parliament would go far as Umno had yet to make a stand on the matter.

 "To me, the biggest issue here before we go further is to know what is Najib's stand. Will BN support this private bill? If yes, then we can discuss. If not, it is clear that they are just playing with PAS to serve their agenda.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said last week Umno was ready to listen to PAS's proposal regarding the implementation of hudud this year. Previous PAS attempts to table the Islamic law had been frustrated by the Barisan Nasional-dominated Parliament.

"We want to hear from PAS. If they are willing to propose it to us, we are ready to listen," Najib had said, although he cautioned that the people must understand the law before it could be implemented.

Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob recently announced the state's plan to table a private member's bill in Parliament to implement hudud law in the state.

The bill would enable the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II, which was passed in 1993 by the state assembly, to be enforced.

Ahmad's announcement closely followed the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom that Putrajaya would back the state's move to implement hudud.

Deputy Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah had said last week the state government did not need the blessings of PKR and DAP to implement hudud.

Echoing Husam, a party activist told The Malaysian Insider that a certain faction in the party was bent on consolidating PAS's Malay support, and this had triggered the current rift with its PR partners.

Members of this faction, according to him, had also arranged a meeting last weekend between Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Kelantan menteri besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

"They want a repeat of the Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) break-up which was brought about after PAS attempted to implement hudud in Terengganu. It resulted in DAP leaving it and the BA crumbling.

“If that happens, then PAS can combine forces with Umno," the activist told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the break-up in 2001.

Another party insider said the group wanted to have a "working relationship" with Umno while remaining in Pakatan Rakyat.

"How this will be achieved is still being worked on," he added.

PAS-DAP ties appeared to have strained after DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke suggested that PAS leave the PR coalition if it was intent on implementing hudud in Kelantan.

The Seremban MP had urged PAS to respect and abide by the consensus agreed to by PKR, DAP and PAS.

A claim by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang added to the storm, when he was quoted in the media as saying on Sunday that PR had agreed to PAS's hudud agenda in Kelantan.

The claim was immediately refuted by DAP leaders, including secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, reminding Hadi that DAP had never agreed to hudud being implemented in any part of the country.

In an attempt to cool things, DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang urged party leaders to stop issuing statements on the matter, pending a meeting by PR's Supreme Council.

PR leaders are set to meet in the next few days.

Kit Siang, saying the meeting would be held as soon as possible, was, however, tight-lipped about the date or venue.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said the meeting would happen soon.

"We will meet to discuss the issue and I hope that a solution found," Mohamad told The Malaysian Insider. – tmi

UMNO gunakan hudud untuk pecahkan Pakatan

Dr M targets Bersih on evils of street protests...

There were no large-scale street protests during the tenure of Dr Mahathir Mohamad - apart from when his nemesis Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from government. This is because, Mahathir's detractors point out, he ruled with an iron fist and dissenters were often thrown behind bars.

But since he stepped down in 2003, street protests have become a common feature under his two successors and this has been a bitter pill for Mahathir.

In his latest blog posting, the former prime minister expresses how these demonstrations are organised with the aim of toppling elected governments and trains his guns on electoral watchdog Bersih.

"So far Malaysia has been spared the instability from massive, prolonged street demonstrations. But the signs are already there.

"Obviously, there are Malaysians who would like to bring down the elected government through demonstrations," Mahathir says.

The series of Bersih demonstrations, he added, were obviously meant to excite public support to discredit the government, and eventually to bring it down.

"The government is accused of cheating in previous elections so as to justify rejection of the coming elections should the government party win. Massive and continuous demonstrations would then be held.

"So far the numbers in the demonstrations are not big enough to paralyse the country. Though disruptive, the businesses, including the small street stalls, have not been stopped.

"But the hope of the organisers of Bersih must be to attract millions to participate and to be daily affairs so that the usual daily life of the people will be disrupted," he addsed.

The next step, according to the former premier, would perhaps be to occupy government buildings.

"The police would be provoked into taking violent actions. International news agencies and their television crews would then record the violence which would be broadcast throughout the world to discredit the majority elected government.

"Of course violence on the part of the demonstrators would not be recorded or shown," he says.

Read Mahathir's  latest blog posting

Dr M terus mengeluh tentang demo besar

Ambiga schools Dr M on nation's real foes...

"Corruption, abuse of power, destruction of fundamental institutions, erosion of human rights, racism and extremism... Do you want me to go on?" asked S Ambiga.
          
Responding to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Bersih chairperson said the elements mentioned above, and not street protests, are what cause instability in a nation.

"And as far as Malaysia is concerned, these are the factors that have caused and are causing instability," Ambiga added.

Without the slightest doubt, Ambiga told Malaysiakini, Mahathir and the Election Commission (EC) are aware that elections are not free and fair in Malaysia.

"They know what the people want, but they lack confidence (of winning) if the election is free and fair.

"It is they who are destroying democracy, and you can quote me on this in the strongest possible terms," said the lawyer, who has led two mammoth Bersih rallies in the past.

Form RCI on GE13

Challenging the government to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the last general election if it felt that the contest was free and fair, Ambiga argued that holding elections does not mean that true democracy exists.

In his latest blog posting, Mahathir trained his guns on the Bersih rallies when expressing his views on the perils of street demonstrations.

Among others, he accused Bersih of organising the rallies, which clogged the major arteries of Kuala Lumpur and drew international attention, to discredit and topple the government.

However, Ambiga reminded Mahathir that street demonstrations are a fundamental right, provided for by the Federal Constitution.

"How can anyone say a fundamental right creates instability?

"Street demonstrations allow citizens to vent their views in between elections, and is practised in healthy democracies," she added.

The former Bar Council president said she agreed with Mahathir that a change in government should come through the ballot box.

"It was never Bersih's intention to bring about a change in government through street protests and we have always stressed that we believe in peaceful protests.

"But on that note, change through the ballot box can only take place if elections are free and fair," she added.

Ambiga also said the Bersih People's Tribunal, set up to look into the last general election, came up with a damning indictment on the elections.

"People want to bring change through the ballot box. They want to work within the system, but when the system is so unfair, what do you expect the people to do?" she asked.

Disappointed but not surprised

Meanwhile, current Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah said she is disappointed with Mahathir’s comments but not surprised.

According to her, attempting to quell critical voices has always been the former prime minister's modus operandi.

Like Ambiga, Maria also reminded Mahathir that freedom to assemble is enshrined in the constitution.

"We recognise that there should be limitations to freedoms, for example there should be no hate speeches. But these limitations must adhere to international standards.

"The limitations cannot be based on the criteria of wanting to stifle dissent or views that the powers that be do not agree with," she told Malaysiakini.

Maria also noted that time and again, Mahathir, BN leaders and their demagogues have accused Bersih of attempting to overthrow the government.

"I wish to challenge that accusation. Governments come and go, that is a democracy.

"But when you hear something critical, you should not immediately brand it as an attempt to overthrow the government

"Even if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power, we will also be critical if something is not right," she added.-mk

cheers.