Nancy dead set against Hudud Bill

SUNGAI BESAR: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri (pic) has made it clear that she is against PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill to strengthen provisions in Syariah law.

“Not only will I reject it, I will not even be there when it comes up.

“I have already demonstrated it on the day it was tabled when I was not inside there,” she told reporters when met at a community event organised here.

On May 26, the Dewan Rakyat allowed the motion for that Bill to be debated.

After the Bill was tabled, Abdul Hadi proposed that it be debated during the October meeting of the Dewan Rakyat.

Nancy, who is also the acting Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, said she was firm in her stand against the controversial Bill as it was also the stand taken by her party leaders.

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem said last Sunday that Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) would not support the Bill.

Nancy, who is the PBB’s Batang Sadong MP, said the Bill was unsuitable for a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, more so in her home state of Sarawak where the non-Muslims outnumbered the Muslims.

“We have to understand, hudud or not hudud, what they are trying to do is to increase the penalty in the Syariah provision of the law.

“We are not supporting it because what we have is sufficient and we don’t need to have an increase in penalty,” she added.

She said that it was “their business” if they want to do it and reiterated that the Bill would not get her support in Parliament.

Abdul Hadi’s Bill seeks to give Syariah courts the power to impose punishments, apart from the death penalty.

There is currently a cap on the punishments meted out by the Syariah courts which cannot impose jail terms more than three years and whipping not exceeding six strokes.

The court can also impose fines not more than RM5,000.