A Reality Check on H355

Recently, PAS held a huge gathering at Padang Merbok in KL. It called it the H355 gathering. It is named after the Act 355 which gives powers to the Islamic courts to carry out certain punishments. Haji Hadi wants to revise these powers.

PAS supporters came from all over the country. Many were given transportation. They set up camp on Padang Merbok. They spread plastic mats on the grass where they ate from styrofoam boxes and  and drank mineral water. Some huddled at any place they could muster and ate squatting. Later they performed prayers on huge mats spread on the padang. Meanwhile, the leaders ate and drank in special VVIP Tent structures. There they ate on tables complete with table spreads and food warmers and fine dining ware.In PASdom , there is strict hierarchy too.

It was a gathering to show support for Haji Hadi’s private members bill. In May 2016, he presented a motion before parliament to amend Act 355. In late 2016, he placed before parliament a motion to amend his original motion. Both times, the proposed amendment to ACT 355 was not debated. It only reached the state of moving a motion. The motion itself was amended, but the Act is yet to be touched.  

The Act 355 remains as it is. Islamic courts in the states of Malaya are still permitted to jail  an offender for 3 years, fined him for RM5000 and caned him with 6 lashes. Not enough says Haji Hadi- brutalise them more. Can jail up to 30 years, can impose a fine up to RM100,000 and can cane up to 100 lashes. 

This is purely a political move by PAS to restore its sagging credibility. Some people wanted to push for an amended or watered down version of ACT 355.  Some people say that putting limits makes for a better Islam.

People asked Haji Hadi, why didn't he allow debate? He answered to give more time for people to understand the issues. With the passage of time, the understanding about the bill became more muddled. We are always warned not to question the intention of the bill- to further the commandments of God. 
Haji Hadi himself is a cause for the confusion.

So Haji Hadi is doing a strange thing. He has not debated in parliament. He is bringing  his motion before the public who don’t understand what is going on. Then he says to the people, the bill is opposed by some MPs notably from Amanah dan DAP. He says these people are anti Islam. He is preaching hate to the congregation. 

Why has he not debated the bill when he had the opportunity? Instead he is using his motion to preach hatred and divisiveness. Its not confined to non Muslims as his preaching involves Muslims who do not agree with him.

UMNO likes it that way. It appears that there have been extensive negotiations behind closed doors between PAS and UMNO to ensure passage of the emotion to become a bill. So when parliament convenes in March 2017, we can expect the motion to be spoken of by Haji Hadi, put to the vote and then accepted as First Reading. After that, the government will adopt it as second reading, have it debated and then put it to the vote.

But perhaps Haji Hadi forgot that after being accepted as first reading, the DPM has promised to set up a joint committee to examine the technicalities of the proposed amended Bill. What does this mean? 
This means, even before getting on as Second Reading, BN is still delaying accepting the motion as Bill. So, it is really the BN especially the UMNO ministers who are slowing down Hadi’s private ambition bill. Are they not faithful enough?

The party that stands in the way of the amended bill is the government of the day. Now, because the government of the day is working closely with PAS to have the bill become law, why was the gathering held? Surely with the support of the government, PAS will succeed.

UMNO has 86 members in parliament. UMNO can arm twist MCA and MIC members and non Muslim MPs of BN to support the bill. They are so attached to their positions as ministers to stand opposed to the Bill. They do not give two hoots about what their supporters think of them. So despite their bravado and brinkmanship, believe me when I say, all those humpty dumpties in MCA, MIC and Gerakan will capitulate. Then they will give all sorts of monkey reasons.

After that, the Islamic courts will get more powers. Salaries of those people who have not been industrious enough will be raised. Perhaps the senior judges get to use Mercedes cars and other facilities to make them of similar stature like civil court judges.
The Islamic courts can then impose a fine of RM100, 000, jail people for 30 years and whipped the buttocks of offenders with 100 lashes. Then I suppose Islam will be more revered. Muslims are brutalised and traumatised.
That is OK, because that promotes the exaltation of Islam. Never mind that Muslims in Malaysia are the poorest segment of society, never mind the reality they lacked skills, training and even social skills.

So on that Saturday, a large number of people turned up. They are the faithful, supporters of the Islamic cause. They believed PAS is the party that best represents them. Although this belief is not universally shared, the supporters are entitled to believe it.

Because of the crowd and the vehement speeches that followed, someone writes that PAS is a force to be reckoned with. I do not agree with this assessment. PAS has more than 1 million members. Only 20,000 who turned up were probably pas members and included children from some madrasahs. The rest around 5,000 to 10,000 were people who belonged to various NGOs. For a party that boasts of a membership of more than 1 million, they must accept the gathering as a dismal failure.

So contrary to the view that PAS is a force to be reckoned with; UMNO now knows PAS is a paper tiger. The party does not have the resources to mobilise as many people as the organisers of Bersih did. 
But more importantly, it also means, people attach more importance to the objectives of Bersih than the objectives of PAS. Many more Muslims believe that the way to make Islam great is not trough the PAS method. You cannot force your views and version on a reluctant public.

The gathering organised by PAS with a little help from friend UMNO was really a gathering of two groups of supremacists. The Malay supremacists in the form of UMNO and the Islamic supremacists represented by PAS.

A Malay supremacist is a Malay who thinks he has a birthright over everything before everyone else. The Muslim supremacist is the Muslim who believes that his version of Islam is the only one.

Those who refuse to accept UMNO’s narrative of things are not Malay enough, traitor to the Malay race, running dog to the Malay enemies. Those who do not accept PAS’s version on how to make Islam great,  are not true believers and are condemned roundly.

UMNO and present day PAS, stand on the same foundation; a form a supremacist ideology. UMNO has chosen its version of racial purity and PAS chose its version of religious purity. A long time ago, in the history of mankind, there was a mad man who wanted to establish an empire based on racial and religious purity. His name was Adolph Hitler.

The gathering was a show of strength and a warning to others not to challenge the ‘idea’ of Islam retailed by PAS all these years.

But the gathering revealed another aspect of  the reality in Malaysia:-UMNO does not have a monopoly on Malay-ness and PAS   does not have a monopoly on Islamic-ness.