Kit Siang: Hadi’s Bill may be up for vote on Monday

(MMO) – PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s Bill could come up for debate and voting next Tuesday or even Monday, Lim Kit Siang said today.

The DAP parliamentary leader said he was shocked to find that the Bill, which seeks to expand the powers of the Shariah court, was slated as the fourth item on Parliament’s Order Paper for the upcoming parliamentary meeting starting Monday.

“Hadi’s private member’s [Bill] is slated as the fourth item of parliamentary business after a motion by the Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, to congratulate the Malaysian Olympians and [Paralympians] for their sterling performances in the two recent world sporting events; the Advocates (Sabah) (Amendment) Bill 2016, and a Treasury motion to convert a RM500 million loan to Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank) to equity.

“Under the circumstances, the possibility that Hadi’s private member’s Bill motion will come up for debate and voting either on Tuesday, or even on Monday, cannot be ruled out,” Lim said in a statement.

He urged all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties to state their stand on Hadi’s Bill.

Malay Mail Online reported last June that at least 62 MPs from both Pakatan Harapan and BN will attend the Dewan Rakyat sitting and vote “nay” to stop the passage of the Bill in October, even though some from both sides may abstain from voting.

For a simple majority approval, the Bill must receive more than half the votes cast as support is based on those voting, and not on the MPs present. An MP who attends but abstains would have no impact on the vote.

The declared MPs then were from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), BN’s lynchpin in Sarawak; United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation in Sabah; peninsula-based BN components MCA and Gerakan, and Pakatan Harapan’s DAP.

Hadi’s Bill seeks to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, also known as Act 355, to empower Islamic courts to enforce punishments ― except for the death penalty ― provided in Shariah laws for Islamic offences listed under state jurisdiction in the Federal Constitution.

Shariah court punishments are currently limited to jail terms not exceeding three years, whipping of not more than six strokes, or fines of not more than RM5,000.