Let MCA follow Muhyiddin's gag order on Allah ban: Pakatan

Let MCA follow Muhyiddin's gag order on Allah ban: Pakatan

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Under fire for bulldozing his way through the Allah ban, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has decided to put the controversial issue under wraps - he has issued a gag order to all parties in the BN and also included the Pakatan Rakyat!

“He must be joking. Let MCA follow the gag,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"We are disappointed the DPM has chosen to respond in typical BN fashion whenever they face adversity. It shows a glaring lack of imagination and we wonder how he is going to cope as the world gets smaller with globalization. Will information be censored in the Malaysia of the future and people gagged whenever he deems the information is 'sensitive."

Tried to play the race card

Although Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was the one who lit the first fire by saying he regretted the Allah ban, it was Muhyiddin who turned it into a raging inferno by trying to score points with the Malays.

He issued a ‘stern warning’ to the MCA although it was only following up on Hisham’s comments when it urged him to lift the ban. Hisham's predecessor Syed Hamid Albar had a few years ago prohibited non-Muslims from using the word Allah to describe God.

Following the uproar that broke out, Muhyiddin took a leaf from ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad, who is notorious for his selective amnesia. According to the DPM, it was unwise to publicly debate the issue as it brought no benefit and could “lead to an unhealthy situation”.

“He should be the first one to heed his own advice instead of simply shooting left and right. But I doubt he will stop playing racial card despite this,” Tian said.

Muhyiddin also said he was aware there were certain parties who were trying to play up the issue to serve their own vested interests.

“However, as a responsible government, the government’s stand is final in that whether BN components or the Opposition, they should refrain from discussing the issue publicly because it will be sub-judice,” Bernama quoted Muhyiddin as saying..

“If I say this, the other side will say something else. What will be the result? There will be chaos. The BN government as a responsible government does not want this to happen.”

Failed to consider the rights of all Malaysians

But pundits were unsurprised by his doublespeak.

Of late, there has been speculation of a serious rift between him and Prime Minister Najib Razak. Apart from warning the MCA, Muhyiddin had also criticized Najib's prized 1Malaysia plan as having failed because few understood what it meant.

“Tan Sri Muhyiddin has no one else to blame but himself for disparaging the initially noble concept of 1Malaysia by failing to take into consideration the rights and interest of all Malaysians,” said DAP information chief Tony Pua.

“The non-Umno Barisan Nasional component parties, on the other hand, perpetuate the failure by refusing to take a position in the interest of all Malaysians, by refusing to challenge Umno, even if the latter is acting against the official government policy or the interest of all Malaysians at large.

“For example, despite an initial attempt by MCA to defend the rights of Christians to use the term ‘Allah’ in their prayers, the MCA president, Datuk Seri (Dr) Chua Soi Lek wasted no time backing down from its initial position once MCA received a rebuke and warning from the deputy prime minister.”