In an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai said his party’s stand was clear and firm that they were ready to vote against the amendments that will now be tabled by the government.
“If the contents are the same or similar to the one tabled by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in a private member’s bill last year, then we will vote against it.
“Even if we only have seven MPs, we will all raise our hands to oppose it,” Liow told the Chinese-language daily.
He added that if Umno were to press on with Hadi’s Bill and collude with PAS, the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition would be on the verge of collapse.
Liow said it was Umno who would then be at fault should the “unconstitutional” Act be tabled without taking into consideration the feelings of other BN parties.
“Whoever implements and agrees to this unconstitutional bill will be the culprit that divides the BN. It is not MCA that will destroy the BN spirit, but Umno,” Liow was quoted as saying by Sin Chew Daily.
Liow said the main reason why MCA was against the Bill was that it would put shariah courts above civil courts.
“Currently, even if the Kelantan state government has passed the hudud law, it cannot be implemented.
“However, if Hadi Awang’s proposals were to be adopted, then the jurisdiction of shariah courts will be expanded to become equal or even higher than the civil courts so that the states can now implement hudud,” he told Sin Chew Daily.
Liow, who is also Bentong MP, said having two different laws in place was also not good for national unity.
“One of MCA’s missions is to preserve national unity, and there must be no compromise with anyone attempting to rock the basis of nation-building.”
Calling for Malaysians to come together to fight the Bill, the MCA president clarified that such a call must not be seen as being anti-Islam.
“MCA is not against the Act per se, but we oppose the amendment proposals by Hadi Awang.
“The amendments taken over by the government must be carried out in accordance with the country’s Federal Constitution before it will get the approval of MCA,” Liow said, according to Sin Chew Daily.
He admitted that he was still unclear as to the contents of the amendments and that the Cabinet had not had any discussion on the matter as yet.