Religious body urges MPs to attend Parliament, reject Hadi’s bill

(The Star) – The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism has advised Members of Parliament to vote against PAS’ Private Member’s Bill on Syariah court amendments.

“As the bill will have far reaching consequences for the nation, we feel duty bound to issue an open letter to the MPs to do their duty as required by their oath of office to protect our Federal constitution,” the group said in a statement on Saturday.

It said that as the MPs had sworn an oath to protect the Federal Constitution upon being elected, hence, they must attend the parliament sittings diligently and reject the bill.

“Not attending is not an option. It will be a serious mistake not to attend parliament sitting, for if the Hudud bill is passed, it will affect all,” it said.

The group urged all MPs to help defend the constitution by vigorously opposing the bill and by voting against it.

The Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 pushed by PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has been slotted in the Parliament’s Order Paper and listed as No. 4.

Parliament will convene next week.