Zahid reassures non-Muslims as Syariah Bill opposition grows

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday sought to assuage non-Muslims’ fears over the proposed move by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) to table a Bill on the implementation of Islamic penal code in Kelantan, even as the opposition continued to voice their disapproval over the issue.

Mr Zahid said there will be various processes that will safeguard the interests of non-Muslims. These include deliberations at the sitting of the Council of Malay Rulers and amendments to the federal Constitution. He also said the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition will talk to those who have concerns over the Bill.

“There are many aspects to look at still, and there is no reason for anyone to be worried,” he told Malaysian media in Tokyo, where he is on a five-day working visit. “If anything, the plan for its implementation only covers Muslims in Kelantan.”

Last Thursday, Ms Azalina Othman Said, a ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, tabled a motion to expedite the tabling of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s Bill in Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, also commonly known as the “hudud” Bill.

The Bill aimed to empower Syariah courts to enforce punishments other than the death penalty.

Umno’s role in fast-tracking the Bill, which Mr Hadi later deferred to the next parliamentary meeting in October, sparked a backlash from BN’s non-Muslim partners, whose leaders said they would quit Cabinet if the proposed amendments are passed.

PAS has been pushing to implement hudud law in Kelantan. Punishment under hudud law includes the cutting off of one’s hands for theft, and stoning to death for extramarital sex.

The Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact was dissolved last year after a public spat between PAS and its then-ally, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), with the latter insisting that hudud was not part of a common policy framework adopted by the opposition parties. Yesterday, the DAP warned that PAS’ Bill will fundamentally affect Malaysia’s federal Constitution and must be approved by two-thirds of Parliament to be valid.

Rejecting arguments by proponents of Mr Hadi’s private Bill — who claim it will not introduce Islamic penal law in Malaysia — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said such denials ignored the possible introduction of two separate criminal systems in Malaysia that was unconstitutional.

“Clearly PAS is trying to bypass and get around the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority by treating this as an ordinary law which requires only a simple majority,” he said yesterday.

A two-thirds vote in Parliament requires the support of at least 147 Members of Parliament (MPs), a simple majority needs just 112. Currently, there are 137 Muslims MPs in the 222-seat legislature, 14 from PAS.

Mr Lim warned the Bill to empower Syariah courts to mete out sentences short of the death penalty would also not be limited to Kelantan, pointing out the law would equip all Islamic courts similarly. He also said Umno’s support in expediting Mr Hadi’s Bill in Parliament is a “gross betrayal” of the federal Constitution that its BN partners could not ignore.

Malaysia Health Minister S Subramaniam, who leads the Malaysian Indian Congress, said on Sunday he will follow Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who leads the Malaysian Chinese Association, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mah Siew Keong, who leads Gerakan, in quitting Cabinet if the Bill goes through.

In light of their opposition, Malay nationalist group Perkasa has challenged the ministers to immediately resign.

Perkasa Islamic affairs bureau chief Amini Amir Abdullah denounced the ministers’ resignation pledges as a “threat to the Malaysian government”.

“Perkasa welcomes anyone who doesn’t respect Muslim rights and Islam as the religion of the federation to resign from the government,” he said yesterday in a statement. “Only those who respect the foundation of the federal Constitution and the majority need be in government.”

Analysts have previously noted that Umno has allowed the hudud Bill debate to proceed so as to score political points against the opposition before the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections next month.

The by-elections are being called following the death of incumbents Wan Mohammad Khairil Wan Ahmad and Noriah Kasnon in a helicopter crash on May 5.

Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak claimed the Bill tabled by Mr Hadi is merely aimed to only give the Syariah Courts power to mete out caning as punishment for any syariah offences, saying the issue was a “misunderstanding”. Mr Hadi also clarified on Saturday that PAS’ Bill was not meant to introduce hudud law in Kelantan. AGENCIES