Adamant that Dewan Rakyat proceeds with debate on RUU355.
PAS has insisted that Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill to raise Shariah punishments be debated when Parliament reconvenes next week, starting Oct 23.
Its secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said it was improper for Hadi’s Bill to be delayed further, saying that it had already been postponed in April without reason.
“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 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.
He reiterated that his party’s insistence that the bid to raise Shariah punishments was an exclusively Muslim matter.
However, on Oct 15, PAS Ulama chief Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed said that the party might wait until after the general election before debating the Bill due to the lack of support from Umno.
The Private Member’s Bill was deferred at the Parliament meeting in July following objections from mainly non-Muslim lawmakers and civil society groups.
Hadi’s Bill seeks to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, also known as Act 355, and raise the maximum sentencing limits to 30 years’ jail, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the cane.