This untidy business of banning the sale of beer in Selangor and the public spate of disagreement between member parties of the Pakatan Rakyat just goes to show how difficult it is to forge an opposition coalition in Malaysia.

In a show of defiance, the Selangor state exco member and PAS Selangor commissioner Hasan Ali once again seemed even more determined in upholding the party’s Islamic principles, in the face of rebuff from some Pakatan leading lights.

When he puts it like that, it is very difficult to argue against him. Nay, it is impossible. If you are opposed to the ban of beer sale in public, you are against Islamic principles and therefore anti-Islam. Since it is an issue concerning Islam, non-Muslims like me who have neither the locus standi nor the understanding of Islamic principles will just have to shut up and accept whatever he says as gospel truth.

NONEThat is the kind of logic in Hasan’s mind when he admonished Ronnie Liu for ‘meddling in Islamic affair’ over the seizure of beer from a convenience store.

Ronnie had merely advised the local council to return the beer to the store from which beer had been seized because the sale of beer requires no license, and to seize goods on sale in any store is just illegal, immoral, and bad for attracting foreign investment.

Any public argument with Hasan is condemned to be futile and fruitless because he stands on his absolutist high horse. He is right, and the rest of mankind is wrong, as if he has a direct line to God.

To make matters worse, he puts up the posture of a tragic hero ready to fight to the death for his cause, saying that he is prepared to face disciplinary actions from PAS or Pakatan top leadership. He is poised to be a martyr. And we all know what that means.

By now, we are familiar with all the criticisms against his proposal to ban the sale of beer in so called Malay-majority areas in Selangor, especially from non-Muslims. But let us hear it from another Muslim, Raja Petra Kamarudin. Writing in Malaysia Today, he said;

“But this is not what is behind the brouhaha. The issue is not about eradicating vice. It is about trying to embarrass the Pakatan Rakyat state government and in the same process create a rift between PAS and its other partners, DAP and PKR.

“First of all, how would we define Malay-majority townships? What percentage of the population would have to be Malay before it is classified as Malay-majority neighbourhoods or townships? Malays make up about 51% of the population of Selangor. So would that particular neighbourhood or township have to have at least a 90% population to be classified as Malay-majority? Or is 70% a more realistic percentage since it would be almost impossible to find a township with a 90% Malay-majority population?

“This is something Umno and its Trojan Horse in PAS, Hasan Ali, did not define. So the issue of what constitutes a Malay-majority township is very hazy at this stage. Maybe they should first define this and after that place signboards at the entrance of these townships that say ‘Malay-majority constituency’ so that people would be aware of it.”

Will Pakatan collapse overnight?

Indeed, this is not merely an issue about “Islamic principles”, it is also an issue about good governance, jurisprudence, and prudence in legislation.

Morality or religious faith simply cannot be legislated. The prohibition of the USA in the 1930s only spawned a whole hoard of criminals like Al Capone. At least, we are not aware that alcohol consumption has become a widespread problem among the Malays, although alcohol abuse is indeed a social scourge among the poorer sections of some other ethnic communities.

When it is not such a serious problem, why then would Hasan make a mountain out of a molehill in a state that has only 51% Malay population?

Whatever his personal motive is, however pure his religious sentiments are, the net result of his controversy is that he has gravely dampened the public image of PAS and Pakatan, and put in jeopardy the viability of the Pakatan government in Selangor.

If in his mind, politics must be governed by religious principles, then he must be subject to the principle that his use of religion must also be governed by the principles of political reality.

I cannot fault RPK for calling Hasan the BN “Trojan Horse” within Pakatan. Surely Hasan is aware of the public consequences of his actions, and if he is and yet goes on to commit the mortal sin against his own opposition camp, then he lacks loyalty to his opposition colleagues. Then his integrity must now be called into question.

If he is not aware of the dire consequences of his actions, then he is a novice over-promoted above his level of competence. Then, he needs to resign from all his official positions!

Will Pakatan collapse overnight just be cause of this controversy, especially when you take into account the Perak fiasco?

I doubt it. The Pakatan state government in Selangor does enjoy a much more comfortable majority then their counterpart in Perak. The Pakatan state reps also look like they are made of pretty tough material, Hasan not withstanding. They do not look like they will crumble easily under MACC intimidation anytime soon.

I know many Pakatan supporters are dismayed by Hasan’s antics, and the constant open squabbles between member parties of the Pakatan coalition government.

It just goes to show that these politicians have been conditioned by their long rebellious life in the political wilderness of the opposition to fight tooth and nail for their principles to the death. They have not yet fully mastered the art of negotiation and compromise required by a coalition government. Whenever a disagreement arises, they go the press and present themselves as heroes.

Selangor has always been the jewel in the BN crown that they have lost to the opposition. Of course, BN will continue to dream of taking back this political jewel every night and day by fair and foul means. Naturally, BN and the propaganda publicity machinery will snap at every misstep of the Pakatan Selangor government every inch of the way. This is also expected.

In these times of critical transition from the long winter of soft authoritarian democracy to the fresh spring of an open Malaysian society, this sort of discomfort caused by the likes of Hasan is but a minor ripple in the great dizzying sea of fundamental change in our country.

SIM KWANG YANG can be reached at kenyalang578@hotmail.com.