Parliament has given ‘positive indication’ on two hudud bills, PAS man claims
(Malay Mail Online) – A senior PAS leader today claimed that the Dewan Rakyat Speaker is in the midst of reviewing two private member’s bills submitted by PAS President and Marang MP Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on the implementation of the Shariah penal law or hudud in Kelantan.
PAS deputy secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the party is now waiting for Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia to issue a notice that the bills will be included in the Parliament’s Order Paper.
“It’s a positive indication. It may be [tabled] during this session… we are waiting for the right time to put it on the list,” Takiyuddin said when met in the Parliament lobby.
Last April, Abdul Hadi submitted two private member’s Bills to Parliament to remove legal obstacles preventing the enforcement of hudud in Kelantan.
The bills were submitted after the Kelantan state assembly approved the Shariah Criminal Code (II) (1993) 2015 Enactment with 31 votes from PAS lawmakers supported by 12 from Umno.
Takiyuddin today stressed that hudud is “nothing to be scared about”, arguing that all they intend to achieve through the two bills is to expand the jurisdiction of the Shariah courts as they currently have less power than a magistrates’ court.
“There is nothing strange about the motion. It is only a motion to increase the jurisdiction of the Shariah court.
“The Speaker gave an indication that he will try to include it in the Order Paper. Hopefully it makes it… to me this is nothing sensitive,” he said.
The Islamist party’s hudud plan has drawn hostile responses from allies PKR and DAP, with the open discord sending the pact into a crisis that has senior leaders already bracing for its disintegration.
With MPs from its Pakatan Rakyat partners expected to vote against the bills if the Dewan Rakyat decides to allow them to be tabled, PAS will have to rely on support from arch-rivals Umno—which holds the lion’s share of parliamentary seats—to see the bills through.
