Anwar Ibrahim hosted Muslim political leaders, academicians and NGO activists to a roundtable discussion of the ‘Allah’ issue in an attempt to canvass the array of views in the Muslim public domain that is favourable to Pakatan Rakyat.MCPX
The four-hour discussion began in Anwar’s house at Bukit Segambut in Kuala Lumpur at 8pm, paused for prayers, and broke up around midnight with some 120 attendees going away feeling, in the main, edified by it all.
“Nothing like a thorough-going discussion of a fraught subject for it to be withdrawn from its welter of emotion and viewed in splendid isolation,” said an attendee who did not want to be named.
“There was expressed an array of views, from the theological, linguistic, and political angles, enough to give you the feeling that had you missed out, you would be the loser,” said the same participant who made light of the long drive back to his northern state, having correctly anticipated that had he come by air he would not be able to leave the meeting early enough to catch the return.
He had to be present early today in his state for important matters.
The fact that PAS MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad and PKR MP for Kulim-Bandar Bharu Zulkifli Nordin, who had publicly clashed over the ‘Allah’ issue when it flared at year’s end, were present was indicative of the non-partisan flavour of the meeting.
‘Let’s reason together’
Anwar, who is fond of invoking Old Testament prophet Isaiah’s invitation to consensus: “Come, come, let us reason together,” would have been delighted at the overall effect of the meeting on its participants.
It confirmed his view that the more vent you give an emotive issue, the less likely it is to combust.
Sources said there was discussion of Umno’s likely next moves on the issue, two of which were projected to be attempts to take the matter to the rulers’ conference and to influence the selection of judges at the appellate level where the legal case now lies.
“It’s not inaccurate to construe that participants assumed Umno’s moves would be manipulative and diabolical. They have seen how a non-Muslim judge presided over the case at the High Court, and now a panel at the Court of Appeal could possibly overturn the judgment, after which it could go to the Federal Court,” said one source.
“This matter could simmer in the public domain for some time, sufficient to allow Umno latitude to play with the pros and cons of a still fluid issue, all in the hope of restoring a sinking party’s electoral fortunes,” he added.
“Participants at the meeting were made aware of these volatile aspects and were subliminally alerted to the need to temper their public views,” said the source.
In other words, once the genie is uncorked, it’s anyone guess when it could be coaxed back into the bottle.
Oleh Terence Netto
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