APRIL 9 ― Hadi Awang should be very happy that his private bill on hudud law finally makes it to the agenda of this parliamentary session.
To Hadi and his party, this is going to be a step forward to push through the hudud law. But to majority of Malaysians, it is a step closer towards the edge of the cliff.
It is out of the expectation of many for the hudud bill to make its way into this parliamentary session, including probably Hadi Awang himself.
Prior to this, political observers generally believed the private bill would most likely be put aside given the fact that it entailed the Constitution, meaning the Pandora's box would be sealed tight so as not to spark unnecessary conflicts and religious crisis.
But things don't work out this way.
Once it gets into the agenda, the private bill will have chances of being debated, and even a vote.
Sure enough there are also technical obstacles. Owing to the packed schedule for this parliamentary session, the hudud private bill is put at the end with over a dozen of other government bills preceding it. It looks like a mounting task to squeeze in this private bill before it goes into recess today.
That said, including the private bill into the agenda gives it some form of recognition that will put many in a state of alarm.
As for Hadi and PAS and the supporters of hudud law, this is a kind of encouragement. The Kelantan state legislative assembly passed the hudud law bill in 1993, but the bill has only managed to stay within the assembly as it had no opportunity of crossing the threshold of the federal parliament.
22 years later, the state of Kelantan has passed the revised hudud bill and in under one month, made it to the agenda of the parliamentary session.
This undeniably marks a crowning victory for PAS' Islamization long march, and will definitely becomes a form of encouragement for these people to obstinately push through their pet idea.
There are currently two possibilities: The Parliament will expedite its process in order to debate the hudud private bill before it goes into recess today.
Once it is being debated, a vote is likely to take place. This is going to plunge not only the Parliament, but also the entire politics into total disorder. Internal splits will ensue within the BN and Pakatan, while conflicts arise between East and West Malaysia. A consensus is the last thing that will emerge.
Rushing into a decision without seeking professional consultation and public consensus will put the country in great danger. If the private bill is eventually adopted, the country's constitution and existing system will be thrown over the cliff, no chances of turning back!
We must do everything we can to stop this from happening.
A second probability is that the Parliament goes into recess without the time for the debate of the private bill. And this will sort of momentarily diffuse a potential crisis.
However, this is not going to kill the ambition of Hadi Awang and his PAS. They will keep proposing it in the Parliament until the goal is achieved.
And this will keep the Parliament and the Malaysian politics in perpetual entanglement over the implementation of hudud law, sending even more Muslims to join them in supporting the hudud.
The likelihood of second probability is higher, and the impact tamer. However, the issue could go on for a lot longer unless there are changes taking place in the existing political competition or sudden shift in ideological affiliation.
* This is the view of the individual and does not necessarily represent the opinion of Malay Mail Online.
