Zahid: Hudud Bill will only apply to Muslims in Kelantan

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS' Bill to implement hudud only applies to Muslims in Kelantan, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.  

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Bill was not to make new laws but deals with the powers of the Syariah Courts to implement hudud in the PAS-led state.  

"It is only to upgrade the Syariah Courts and the laws apply only to Muslims," he said after chairing the National Water Resources Council meeting in Parliament House here Thursday.  

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang successfully submitted a Private Members’ Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) 2016.  

The amendments, if passed, would allow the Kelantan government to impose hudud punishment, except the death sentence, for those convicted under Syariah laws.  

Hadi's Bill had been listed as the last item in the Dewan Rakyat's Standing Order, but Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman moved a motion to bring it forward for debate.  

The motion was passed but Hadi requested that the debate on the Bill be postponed to the next Dewan Rakyat meeting.  

This is Hadi's third attempt to table the Bill in the Dewan Rakyat since last year.