Will royal rebuke lead to charges against Malaysia's Islamist party leader Hadi Awang?

On 29 February, Abdul Hadi Awang, the seemingly untouchable president of Malaysia’s Islamist party PAS, received a rare rebuke from royalty.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor ticked him off over some remarks he made in calling on Muslims, including judges, MPs and the sultans of the various states in the federation, to defend Islam.

The Selangor Royal Office, in a statement released online, said: “Hadi’s cynical remarks indirectly connecting the sultan’s decree to the attitude of Rulers that they must be concerned with the afterlife and not pursue worldly interests alone, was most inappropriate and ill-mannered, given the Malay culture to always be respectful and polite when expressing views and advice to the Malay Rulers.

“Hadi’s remarks not only mislead but could also cause disquiet that could eventually lead to the fracturing of Muslim unity, especially among the Malays in the country.”

It said Hadi had not thoroughly understood or read the message contained in the Sultan’s speech at a meeting of the Malaysian National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs on 15 February.

Telling Hadi to be more careful when making comments, the Sultan asked why Hadi was suddenly interested in questioning the Federal Constitution’s position as the supreme law of the land.

Islam is religion of federation, says Sultan

The Sultan, the then chairman of the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs, noted that the constitution clearly stated that Islam was the religion of the federation.

“His Highness advises Tan Sri Hadi to be more careful in the future so that he does not again insult the Malay Rulers through his remarks that could divide the Muslims in the country.

“His Highness also decrees that all politicians and political leaders must not manipulate Islam and smear the pure religion for the political interests of their parties.”

The rebuke came in the wake of Hadi’s statement, in which, among other things, he had said the Federal Constitution was a product of colonisers who had wanted to deceive Muslims into surrendering Islam’s authority.

He had also called upon Muslims, including judges and the Rulers, to strengthen their faith and to also focus on the afterlife and not just on worldly interests in their actions.

Federal Court’s decision on shariah provisions the trigger

The PAS leader’s statement followed a Federal Court decision to invalidate 16 of 18 provisions in the Kelantan Shariah criminal enactment.

The petition to annul certain provisions in the state shariah law was filed by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter on grounds that these were inconsistent with the Federal Constitution.

Some Muslims expressed their unhappiness by commenting on the court decision.

Hadi, for instance, was quoted by the media as saying that the judiciary had certain “unwise” judges who possessed mindsets and intellects “influenced” by the British colonisers.

He went on to say that previous judges, including the late former lord president Salleh Abas, would not have entertained efforts to sideline Islamic law.

He added that “the sin of insulting Islam is greater than the sin of insulting the courts”.

Several lawyers then called on the attorney-general to initiate contempt proceedings against Hadi for attacking the judiciary.

With comments flying around and several people questioning the Federal Constitution, Sultan Sharafuddin issued a statement on 15 February urging everyone to respect the decision of the Federal Court and the position of the Constitution as the supreme law of the country.

That apparently triggered Hadi’s controversial statement.

Police question Hadi Awang

On 5 March, two police officers questioned Hadi at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur regarding his remarks. He is being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1987.

On the same day, Hadi, who is Marang MP, issued a statement saying that he had sent a letter to Sultan Sharafuddin a day earlier. He did not divulge the contents of the letter.

Was the letter to soften the situation? We don’t know.

On 8 March, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said police had completed their probe into Hadi and that the investigation paper had been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Will Hadi be charged?

Will Hadi be charged this time? We don’t know.

What we do know is that Hadi is no stranger to controversy.

What we do know is that Hadi is one of the most investigated politicians for making controversial statements.

But despite the well-publicised police probes, he has never been charged for comments some felt had hurt certain sections of Malaysians or had allegedly been in contempt of court.

For instance, in March 2021, Hadi had made reference to “crocodiles” in criticising a Federal Court ruling that a Selangor shariah enactment which criminalises unnatural sex was unconstitutional.

He was quoted by the media as saying that “several members of the judiciary” had lost their religious sensitivities.

For instance, in January 2019, he was reported to have urged Muslims to only support Muslim leaders or end up in hell. He reportedly said it was the duty of a Muslim to vote for Muslims and that having a cruel Muslim leader was better than having the kindest non-Muslim leader.

A news report on 28 August 2023 said police were investigating Hadi for allegedly questioning the Pardons Board’s granting of pardons.

The same month, he was called up by police over a speech where he allegedly said that the country belonged to the Malays.

He allegedly said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government was dominated by non-Malays and non-Muslims and that the Malays in the government were the Chinese-dominant DAP's “Gurkha”, referring to Nepalese soldiers who were recruited to fight for British colonialists.

There were many more controversial statements from this wily politician who has managed to turn PAS into a major national force by playing on the faith and fears of Muslims.

Hadi has proven to be wily, capable leader

Hadi, it must be said, has tremendous support from a certain constituency which sees him as a great leader whose word is law. Under his leadership PAS today has 43 MPs – the highest number in its history - and its members are menteri besar or chief ministers in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

As I said earlier, he had always got away with his statements and remarks, despite the lodging of numerous reports and despite police opening numerous investigations against him.

Perhaps there was no way to make any of these accusations stick. Perhaps his statements did not cross the line.

Perhaps, as some Malaysians feel, it has something to do with the strong support he commands among PAS members and their possible response if he were to be charged.

But this time he may have bitten off more than he can chew as he has infuriated royalty, an institution which is much respected in Malaysia.

Will his luck hold this time too? Only time will tell. Only the attorney-general can tell.

A.Kathirasen is a veteran Malaysian journalist/editor who has been writing columns, with breaks, in newspapers and online since 1981. All views expressed are the writer's own.

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