KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Opposition lawmaker Charles Santiago wants the police to investigate PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, whom he alleged to have created political instability in Malaysia with his recent remarks about the collapse of the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
The Klang MP said the “bloodless coup” in February last year through the now infamous “Sheraton Move” was an attack against Malaysia’s democracy and that Hadi should be called in for police questioning since the latter seemed to “know more” about how it began.
“Hadi and those who were privy to the plan leading up to the Sheraton Move must be made to understand that it’s not a bloodless coup but the dismantling of democracy.
“It was a travesty to the people who exercised their voting rights.
“We, the elected representatives and the people, therefore deserve to know the truth and more importantly the culprits who choreographed the toppling of a democratically-elected government,” Charles said in a statement today.
The DAP politician said the police had been quick to act in previous alleged attempts to create political instability in the country and questioned the lack of “fervour in questioning PAS President, Abdul Hadi Awang, who said the coup to overthrow Pakatan Harapan was planned right after the last general election”.
“The stock market was down, investors fled and potential investors were mortified, the people’s vote became redundant and we are still reeling from the after-effects of this coup.
“Didn’t this create political instability?” Charles asked.
Hadi, the prime minister’s special envoy to the Middle East with a rank on par with ministers, wrote an opinion piece on March 7 claiming the Sheraton Move had been a long-term plan that started immediately after Election 2018 which catapulted the PH coalition into power.
The Marang MP also insisted that the move that saw the fall of the PH administration towards the formation of Perikatan Nasional (PN) among former political rivals Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Umno and PAS was constitutional.
“The change from PH to the PN government was done in a democratic manner and in accordance with the Federal Constitution with the most accurate move, without ‘poking holes through the roof’ or going through the backdoor,” Hadi wrote.
Charles added that the remark by Hadi reminded him of another controversy caused by “ruthless individuals” in 2018 when the then PH government announced plans to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
“That incident became explosive and pitted different communities against each other, again creating a tense environment in our multiracial country,” Charles said.
In 2018, PH came under furious criticism from PAS and Umno after then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced his government’s intention to ratify ICERD.
At that time, Hadi claimed the ICERD was a ploy by the Freemasons to destroy religions, race and Malaysia and called on all God-fearing Malaysians to unite and oppose the anti-discrimination treaty.
The Prime Minister’s Office later issued a statement announcing that the PH government will not ratify the ICERD and that it will defend the Federal Constitution in which is enshrined the social contract agreed to by the representatives of all the races during the formation of the country.
