In short, DAP needs to always be on a war footing and show the world that only DAP and no one other than DAP stands between the Chinese and the evil religion called Islam. Show me one party other than DAP that dares challenge and defy Islam, is the message DAP wants delivered.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
When the PAS-Semangat 46 coalition took over Kelantan in 1990, PAS Menteri Besar Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat called the Hindu leaders for a meeting. Nik Aziz told the Hindus that he has noticed that some time ago they had applied for permission to build a temple. Permission was never granted and neither was the application withdrawn. “Do you still want permission to build a temple?” Nik Aziz asked.
Of course they do, replied the Hindus. “Then why did you not come and see me about it if you still want to build your temple?” asked Nik Aziz.
The Hindus replied that they had applied for permission to build a temple so long ago when the state was still under Umno but never received permission. So they thought since the state was now under PAS it would have been useless to even try to apply.
Nik Aziz signed the approval then and there without any fanfare or publicity.
Soon after PAS took over Terengganu in 1999, one very senior church leader in Kuala Lumpur contacted me and asked whether I could arrange a meeting between the church leaders and PAS Menteri Besar Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang. They wanted to discuss ‘certain matters’ with my Tok Guru.
I did arrange the meeting and the church leaders went up to Kuala Terengganu to meet Hadi to resolve many issues that had remained unresolved all those years when Terengganu was under Umno. One of the issues was permission to set up a church in the state capital.
All the issues were resolved, including permission to set up a church.
Hadi then called the Terengganu Chinese for a meeting to discuss the state’s plan to ban liquor and (organised) gambling in the state. The Chinese told Hadi that he should not ban liquor (or maybe ban it only for Muslims) while the state can go ahead and ban gambling since it is a social disease anyway and which causes hardship to the families of those people addicted to gambling. (But the Chinese could still play mah jong or gamble socially in the privacy of their homes).
But then there was one Malay-owned international resort that catered to mostly foreign tourists that could not obtain a liquor licence because…well, the owner was Muslim. The chap approached the state and was told to quietly sell liquor but to not make so much noise about it. And he was advised to not officially apply for a licence because if he did then the state would be forced to reject it.
So this Muslim could continue selling liquor without a licence while the state ‘closed two eyes’ as long as they did not sell it to Muslims but only to foreigners. But the irony of the whole thing is, 100% of his staff were Malays and mostly locals from around that area.
What does this tell you? Well, it tells you that if you quietly discuss the matter and not scream and shout and hold a press conference and try to turn the matter into a political issue, most things can be resolved. But when you play politics then it becomes a political issue.
DAP has always been using Islam or its stand to oppose Islam as its political platform. And because of that PAS and, sometimes, even Umno, retaliates politically. When you slap someone with politics then you get slapped back also with politics.
History has shown that in Kelantan and Terengganu, when PAS happened to be running those states, non-Muslims could get things done with PAS that they could not even get done with Umno when it was running the state. But they must sit at one table and discuss the matter behind closed doors and explore how if it cannot be done a certain way then what other way can it be done as a compromise so that it becomes a win-win situation.
But that is not DAP’s style. DAP needs to call for a press conference (at least two or three a day). DAP needs to issue official statements (at least five or six a day). DAP needs to issue cabaran and challenges during a ceramah in front of hundreds of their supporters (every day). DAP needs to be confrontational and show that it is ready to fight at the drop of a hat. DAP needs to demonstrate to the Chinese that it is fighting for the Chinese while MCA and Gerakan are Umno running dogs.
In short, DAP needs to always be on a war footing and show the world that only DAP and no one other than DAP stands between the Chinese and the evil religion called Islam. Show me one party other than DAP that dares challenge and defy Islam, is the message DAP wants delivered.
And that is even more important now after the Sarawak state election and the two by-elections last month. It is clear from the performance in all those elections that DAP can no longer boast it has 95% Chinese support. And the Malay support that PAS used to deliver is also gone and PAN has not proven to be the replacement to PAS that DAP originally thought it would be.
DAP needs to step up its anti-Islam rhetoric to try to gain back the Chinese support it has lost. So Islam has to be presented as a danger to the Chinese and that DAP is the only defence the Chinese have against Islam. And that is why DAP is telling the Chinese that the Syariah Amendment Bill is actually a Hudud Bill. And DAP is also telling the Chinese that once implemented even non-Muslims will be subjected to Hudud punishments.
And only DAP can save the Chinese and non-Muslims from this terrible fate that awaits them. So it is important that 95% of the Chinese and non-Muslims vote for DAP in the 2018 general election.
But then is this true? Was it not Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who signed into law the ban on non-Muslims from using Allah and about two-dozen other Islamic words?
And is DAP not a partner in the Selangor state government? So why does DAP not ask Menteri Besar Azmin Ali to present a Bill in the Selangor State Assembly to repeal the law that prohibits non-Muslims from using Allah and about two-dozen other Islamic words?
Or why not someone from DAP itself present a private member’s bill in the Selangor State Assembly, like what Hadi did in parliament, to repeal the Selangor law that prohibits non-Muslims from using Allah and about two-dozen other Islamic words?
More importantly would be, why have the Chinese and non-Muslims not realised this?