PAS to push for hudud Bills at Dewan Rakyat next week

PETALING JAYA: PAS will still push for the tabling of its Private Member’s Bills on hudud during the Dewan Rakyat meeting next week.

Despite failing in its attempts to table the Bills in March, Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah confirmed that a notice to table the hudud Bills had been submitted by PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia about two weeks ago.

“We will wait and see if the Bills will come up for a debate,” he said in an interview yesterday.

He said the Islamist party is committed to pushing for the implementation of hudud law in Kelantan despite the technical challenges that prevented the Bills from being debated during the last Dewan Rakyat meeting.

“We are still committed towards hudud. That is why PAS is re-submitting a new notice,” Mohd Amar added.

The last Dewan Rakyat meeting for this year was held from March 9 to April 9.

On March 19, the Kelantan state assembly passed the amendments to the Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 after getting support from 44 assemblymen including 12 from Barisan Nasional.

A day earlier, Abdul Hadi, who is also Marang MP, submitted a notice to Pandikar Amin to table the Bills to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

However, the Bills were not brought up for a debate.

Should the Bills be tabled in Parliament, the decision will rest on 133 Barisan MPs and 89 from the Opposition.

All PAS needs is a simple majority of 112 votes in favour to allow the Bills to be passed.

Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad was earlier quoted as saying that Umno lawmakers will vote according to their conscience as it was a matter of “faith and religion”.