PAS likely to postpone RUU355 until after GE14

Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed

PETALING JAYA: PAS is likely to postpone the Private Member's Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act or RUU355 in the upcoming Parliament sitting.

Its Ulama chief Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed said the party might wait till after the 14th general election before debating the Bill due to Umno being "not supportive" of RU355.

He said after the general election, and if PAS wins many seats, "then hopefully we can debate it."

Mahfodz said that PAS had to consider the support of MPs before tabling the Bill.

"If Umno and other Muslim MPs do not support it, then it is best we postpone it.

"We will discuss when is the best time to table it," he told reporters after a lecture in Gombak, Selangor.

The Bill was deferred in the last Parliament sitting in July following objections from mainly non-Muslim lawmakers and civil society groups.

It seeks to increase the punishment caps of the Syariah court by at least three-fold.

There were suggestions that the Government should takeover the Bill, but Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak decided against it, in line with the principle of consensus.