The RUU355 rally organised by PAS was meant to show support for its president Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill that seeks to increase the shariah courts’ punitive powers.
The bill has been objected to by many who claim that it is PAS’ way of implementing hudud law eventually. This objection was repeated by Bebas at its counter rally held concurrently with the RUU355 rally.
Speaking to FMT, Universiti Malaya (UM) associate professor Awang Azman Pawi said he believed the turnout for the RUU355 rally was reflective of the people’s aspirations and proved PAS’ strength.
“The turnout shows there is grassroots support for the proposed amendments, especially from PAS supporters who are made up of Malay Muslims, who are still large in number,” he said.
He said it was also apparent that Muslim NGOs had shown their true colours during the rally.
“There was also support from Muslim NGOs who, all this while, had chosen to remain quiet but have now decided to show open support for the proposed amendments.”
Awang Azman also took note of the presence of the PAS Supporters’ Wing (DHPP) as well as that of several non-Muslims at the rally.
“This is pertinent because it shows that behind the supposed idea that non-Muslims do not support the proposed amendments, there are also non-Muslims who support the amendments and are confident that these amendments will not threaten people of other religions.”
He claimed the huge turnout that PAS managed to gather for its rally had several implications.
“First, PAS could very well use these proposed amendments as its main political agenda in order to attract grassroots supporters.
“Second, parties such as DAP and Gerakan should rethink their protest against the proposed amendments because it may cause conservative Muslims to think that these parties are too stubborn to accept that these amendments are not about adopting hudud.
“PAS should also not be thought of as a weak party because, through this rally, it has proven otherwise.”
On the other hand, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) associate professor Faisal S Hazis has attributed the large turnout for PAS’ rally to organisational capacity.
“It does not necessarily reflect support for the proposed amendments. I think it (the large turnout) was mainly because PAS was the one who organised the rally,” he told FMT.
“PAS has the machinery and support of its members while Bebas is just an NGO, so I’m sure PAS has a better capacity to organise big rallies compared with Bebas.”
He also commented on the low turnout of DAP big guns at Bebas’ counter-rally.
“I think it’s a strategic move because voters – especially the rural Malays – still have negative perceptions of DAP and if they were to publicly show their resentment of RUU355, it will further perpetuate that kind of perception.
“They’ve made their stance clear and have said they are against the proposed amendments so they don’t have to appear at the rally. The same goes for Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak and even MCA, who have said they will vote against Hadi’s bill.
“In the end, they also want to avoid being labelled anti-Muslim or anti-Malay.”
It was earlier reported that the only political leaders speaking at the Bebas rally this afternoon were DAP’s Zaid Ibrahim, and Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong.
While thousands were reported to have gathered with PAS leaders at Padang Merbok to show support for the amendments, less than 200 showed up at the “Himpunan Rakyat Tolak Usul Hadi” counter rally held at the Tasik Taman Jaya here today.
Both rallies were held at the same time, but the Bebas rally was over by 6pm.