I read with much cynicism the objections raised by Barisan Nasional component parties, namely MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PBRS, Upko and SUPP towards the ‘amendments to Section 2' Bill.

In the peninsula, an MCA state assemblyperson in Kedah who quit the party made a U-turn. The presidents of MCA, MIC and Gerakan have threatened to quit cabinet posts if “amendments to Section 2 Act 355" are passed.

In East Malaysia, PBRS’s president, Upko’s acting president and SUPP’s deputy president did not join the chorus threatening to quit, but took a softer approach by “pleading” to the prime minister to not pass the “amendments to Section 2 Act 355".

Seems ironic, because in no time the prime minister explained it was not hudud, but an amendment “from six strokes to a few more”. The deputy minister for Islamic Affairs made a similar comment stating it is not a backdoor to hudud.

The wayang

On one hand, the component parties in BN are saying “please don't pass hudud, otherwise we quit”, on another you have Umno in BN saying “itu bukan hudud bro”. So is it hudud, or is it not hudud to BN?

The other wayang: Have we forgotten the role of the two gullible two Members of Parliament from Umno who decided to fast-track the “amendments to Section 2" Bill?

Not the first time ‘hudud’ raised

For the record, this is not the first time this issue was raised in public.

In late 2014, DAP’s ferocious opposition to PAS’s plans ultimately led to Pakatan Rakyat’s break-up in 2015.

In early 2015, PAS was reportedly “disappointed” with Anwar Ibrahim over his reluctance to push for PAS’s agendas.

Not the first time ‘hudud’ brought to Parliament

For the record again, this is also not the first time this Bill was brought to Parliament.

In March 2015, a day before Kelantan approved the Shariah Criminal Code (II) (1993) 2015 Enactment, Hadi Awang filed a notice to Parliament for the very same “Section 2 amendments Act 355" we are debating today.

In April 2015, it was on the Dewan Rakyat’s order papers of the day. However, 23 other motions and items were in the queue, forcing it to be deferred to the next session due to a lack of time.

In June 2015, it was again on the Dewan Rakyat’s agenda. Again, it did not see the light as it was placed last on the list of 12 other government bills and 15 motions from other parliamentary lawmakers.

Towards the end of the year, a group of Muslims filed a suit to block Hadi’s Bill. The courts in November 2015 decided to strike out their suit.

Where were MCA, MIC, Gerakan, SUPP, Upko and PBRS back then?

Same script, different reactions

It is no different this time, with Hadi’s motion placed last in the 15 motions of the day (including five by BN). However, thanks to Azalina Othman Said and Rosnah Abdul Rashid, Hadi made history by being the first opposition MP to have his Private Bill prioritised over the business of the government of the day.

The only reason Hadi would see light to his Bill is because two Umno Members of Parliament decided to fast-track this motion. Has any of these BN component party leaders questioned the cheekiness of Azalina Othman Said and Rosnah Abdul Rashid?

In fact, if the two Umno MPs did not move a motion to fast-track “amendments to Section 2" Bill, the same outcome in April and June 2015 would have materialised.

The BN component parties' response is akin to this - Tom and Jerry decided to go fishing at a lake filled with crocodiles. And out of the blue, Tom decides to push Jerry off the boat. Jerry instead of scolding Tom for pushing him, passes the blame to the crocodiles and coastal guards.

Dear BN component parties, stop your wayang.

ADRIAN LIM CHEE EN is a law student currently running the #BebasAnwar campaign. He tweets at @adrianlimcheeen