PAS chief tables hudud Bill for third time; proposes stiffer penalties

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian opposition Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang has once again tabled a Bill on the implementation of Islamic penal code in Kelantan in Parliament yesterday, sparking further resistance from both ruling and opposition parties.

In the latest version of Mr Hadi’s private member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 — also commonly known as the “hudud” Bill — he proposed to raise the punishment ceiling meted out by Syariah courts to 30 years in prison, RM100,000 (S$32,582) fine and 100 strokes of the cane.

Currently, the penalties only state a maximum jail term of three years or a fine of RM5,000 or six strokes of the cane.

Mr Hadi did not propose the extent of powers for the Syariah courts during his previous two attempts to table the Bill, giving the courts a free hand to mete out any punishment other than the death penalty.

Debate on Mr Hadi’s latest Bill however, was deferred to the next parliamentary meeting in March due to strong opposition from non-Muslims.

“This motion has only to do with Muslims, and should not be disturbed by non-Muslims. However, there are non-Muslim politicians who are not representing us and are objecting it for their own purposes over the good of the people,” Mr Hadi said yesterday.

PAS Secretary-General Takiyuddin Hassan said yesterday that the deferment will also allow lawmakers to study the Bill closely.

Yesterday was Mr Hadi’s third attempt to table the controversial Bill as part of the move to remove legal barriers to the enforcement of hudud in Kelantan. Under Malaysia’s parliamentary procedure, a Member of Parliament can retable his or her private member’s Bill if it was not debated at the last Parliament sitting.

Mr Hadi first attempted to table the Bill last year, but the move resulted in the dissolution of the Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact after a public spat between PAS and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), with the latter insisting that hudud was not part of a common policy framework adopted by the opposition parties.

Mr Hadi attempted to do so again in May, which saw a minister from the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) tabling a motion to expedite the tabling of the Bill.

Umno’s role in fast-tracking the Bill, which Mr Hadi later deferred to this current parliamentary meeting in order to give lawmakers more time to prepare for a debate on the issue, sparked a backlash from the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) non-Muslim partners, whose leaders had said they would quit the Cabinet if the proposed amendments were passed.

Allaying concerns, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reiterated on Wednesday that non-Muslims have nothing to fear from Mr Hadi’s Bill.

“This Bill is not about hudud. We want to empower Syariah courts. Is it wrong for us to empower Syariah courts? Are the laws under the Syariah court encroaching other religion(s)? No,” he said.

Mr Hadi’s Bill in its original form had been characterised as necessary to pave the way for hudud law in Kelantan. Punishment under hudud law includes the cutting off of one’s hands for theft, as well as stoning to death for extramarital sex.

However, this has receded with each advance the Bill has made, and is currently presented as merely to enhance the powers of the Syariah courts. Despite this, BN non-Muslim leaders remained unconvinced.

“The amended Bill is not in line with the Federal Constitution,” said the Malaysian Chinese Association president Liow Tiong Lai yesterday.

Dr S Subramaniam, the president of Malaysian Indian Congress, also expressed doubt that Mr Hadi’s latest Bill would not affect non-Muslims.

“The continued attempt by the Marang MP to widen the powers of the Syariah courts is worrying and unacceptable,” he said in referring to Mr Hadi by his parliamentary constituency. AGENCIES