In Malaysia none is above the law, except Hadi??

What is the extent of provocation before police can move against Hadi?

By Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy





WHAT else is new from PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Awang Hadi?

First he accused the non-Malays of being the roots of corruption and now he is saying that PAS will never cooperate with Pakatan Harapan (PH) because the component parties are composed of non-believers, racists and the sources of corruption.

He said that as far as PAS is concerned, there is no such thing as a big tent approach with PH parties even if some of them are Malay-based.

Taking a dig at DAP he criticised that the concept of Malaysian Malaysia as something alien to Islam and the Malays in the country.

He lamented that the purveyors of this idea should leave the country because Malays who profess to Islam are against this alien and anti-Islamic concept.

Even after a number of police reports were made against Hadi for his extreme racism for labelling the non-Malays the roots of corruption, there is no let up on the part of the Marang MP.

Thinking that he is immune from prosecution, he is spewing more venom against the non-Malays.

No action

Essentially, he is saying that there is no way that PAS will ever cooperate with PH in the future as the coalition is composed of non-believers and those who give and accept corruption.

I expect more police reports made against Hadi in the matter of days.

By repeating his extreme remarks, he is telling the police whether they dare to arrest and charge him.

It is not the police have no evidence as his attacks on the non-Malays clearly fall within the realm of sedition. It is not that the country has no laws.

But by not moving against Hadi, the police might inadvertently give the impression that some individuals who are in high places might be above the law.

Hadi’s one-sided obsession with corruption among non-Malays seems to have missed the point that PAS is not above corruption.

Some leaders might not be the givers but certainly the takers.

The serious allegation that PAS received about RM90 mil from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was in power has yet to be investigated or the matter has been closed.




Double standards

Recently, there were police reports lodged in Penang for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate Hadi for his apparent involvement in accepting ‘dirty’ money from UMNO.

Why is the MACC or the police mum on this serious allegation of corruption? Is there a thinking that PAS and its leaders are above corruption? Or alternatively, that receivers of corrupt money are not that corrupted as the givers?

If Najib, the former prime minister, can be convicted and jailed, why shouldn’t Hadi be investigated for allegations of corruption?

Time will tell if PAS is going to be a spent force in Malaysian politics. Given this trajectory, there are attempts to make the party relevant to the Malays who are Muslims.

While religion might not be useful to drive wedge between the Malays and the non-Malays, Hadi – having learnt some lessons from UMNO – has resorted to extreme and the most damaging forms racism to ensure the party’s relevance in the coming GE15.

The question foremost in the minds of Malaysians is why extremists and racist bigots like Hadi can get away by making highly provocative remarks.

Why is the police keeping silent on the matter of Hadi’s provocative racism towards the non-Malays?

Are there double-standards when it comes to arresting and charging individuals? What makes Hadi an exception to the axiom that no one is above the law?

Emboldened by the fact that he is untouchable, Hadi will continue to make extreme and nasty statements against the non-Malays.

He even has the temerity to suggest that if non-Malays don’t accept the ways of Malay Muslims, they are free to leave the country. Asking the non-Malays to leave the country if they are not satisfied is clearly treasonous.

It is only a matter of time before he threatens their expulsion. Is this not enough for the police to move against him? What else has he to do before the police spring to action?

The world is watching. – Sept 16, 2022



Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the DAP state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.