PETALING JAYA: A PAS leader is adamant that Parliament proceeds with debate on the Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act or RUU355 during the meeting which begins this Monday (Oct 23).
Its secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (pix) said that Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia should allow debate on the Bill to resume following its tabling in the previous meeting by PAS president and Marang MP Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on April 6.
However, Takiyuddin's statement differs from that of PAS Ulama chief Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed, who on Sunday (Oct 15), said that the party might wait until after GE14 before debating the Bill due to the lack of support from Umno.
“PAS is of the view that there should be no excuse whatsoever to stop the debate following the tabling of the Bill by the Marang MP and was supported by me as Kota Baru MP on April 6," Takiyuddin said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 19).
“Debate should resume until the end based on procedure even if it cannot be completed in the coming meeting,” he added.
Takiyuddin compared the Bill to court proceedings where an adjourned case would be resumed and be completed following a decision by a judge.
“In Parliament, the difference is that the RUU355 will be decided by votes from the MPs,” he said.
Parliament will convene from Oct 23 to Nov 30. The meeting will see the tabling of Budget 2018 by the Prime Minister on Oct 27.
The Private Member’s Bill was deferred at the Parliament meeting 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.
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