Former Chief Justice of Malaysia has said he did not want to join the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) as he feared being used by certain parties, who wanted to cast aside Malay rights and the position of Islam in the country.
Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad said he had made up his mind not to join the NUCC even before its composition was unveiled.
"I was afraid I would become a 'traitor' to the Malays and Islam," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Hamid said he had made the right decision after looking at the members of the NUCC, who have been accused of being a channel for opposition parties.
"The Malay Muslim members will not be able to defend the position of Islam which is stipulated in the Constitution, in fact, there are some who won't defend it because of their liberal thinking.
"Members from Sabah and Sarawak, especially those who are Christians, who might be unhappy with the Malay Muslims in the peninsula because of the ‘Allah’ issue, will also join in without realising that their rights will also be taken away.”
He claimed the government, through the National Unity and Integration Department had given the task of drafting the unity bills to the opposition, who had now "taken over" the NUCC.
The NUCC has drafted three bills to replace the draconian Sedition Act, namely the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill, the National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill and the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill.
Hamid said if the Bar Council would draft the bills according to the will and likes of the parties it supported, if the opportunity arose.
He asked why the opposition, particularly the Bar Council, was allowed to determine policies and amend them according to their own agendas.
The reason he associated the Bar Council with the opposition, Hamid said, was following an incident at a dinner organised by the group after the 12th general election, when he was still the Chief Justice of Malaysia.
"The event was nothing more than a celebratory dinner for the opposition's win," he said.
He said, according to standard practices, when the government wanted to draft a law, it would at first get the ministry to make policy decisions.
"Then after that the ministry or department would get the A-G's Chambers. And the role of the A-G is to draft it as how the ministry or department wants it to be. So why isn't this practice followed?"
Although he stressed that he was not against the opposition being consulted for the proposed unity laws, it should not be left up to them to decide on policies and amendments.
"The Barisan Nasional government, especially Umno and also PAS, will be responsible if the laws are passed and the rights of the Malays and the position of Islam are eroded.
"Sabah and Sarawak leaders, too, will not escape from this responsibility”