A DAP leader has hit out at MCA, claiming the latter had likely been aware that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend syariah punishment limits would be tabled.
DAP national vice chairperson Teresa Kok was responding to MCA’s constant attacks at DAP over the tabling of the bill in Parliament, which would allow PAS Kelantan to implement its hudud laws passed at state level.
“After MCA’s failure to prevent Hadi Awang from tabling the private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction ) Act 1965 (or Act 355), MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong has made various attacks on the DAP in an obvious attempt to divert public attention.
“However his attacks are irresponsible and mere baseless allegations,” said Kok in a statement today.
“Wee ‘s lengthy attacks on DAP cannot hide the fact that MCA has failed in preventing the tabling of the Act 355 bill, whether there was or was not a BN consensus on allowing it.
“In fact , there were clear signs that there was a BN consensus to allow the Act 355 bill to be tabled.
“The clearest sign was MCA did not object to its tabling. If there was no BN consensus on the tabling of the bill, MCA MPs ought to have walked of the Parliament to register their strong protest, but all MCA MPs kept silent.
“MCA has again displayed its political trait of being ‘tiger head and snake tail’, where it will always compromise the people’s interests and rights just to stay in the BN coalition,” said Kok.
MCA has been blaming DAP for the tabling of Hadi’s bill, which was put to Parliament after hudud laws were passed in Kelantan with a majority of PAS and Umno assemblypersons, following a joint technical committee on hudud formed by the BN-led federal government and PAS.
Prime Minister Najib Razak also announced during last November’s Umno general assembly the government would take over tabling of the bill, a decision that was aborted at the last minute during this Parliamentary sitting.
Kok countered MCA’s claims DAP lawmakers had not objected to the motion when it was tabled.
“The truth is Pakatan Harapan and DAP MPs were all prepared to state our clear and strong stand against the bill during debate and voting stage.
“We did not expect the speaker to disallow debate and to abruptly adjourned the sitting.
“The debate did not start, and we were prevented from stating our views and stand, so how could Wee accuse us of doing little to oppose the bill?” said Kok, who is Seputeh MP.