PKR MPs may be the deciding factor in Syariah Court Act amendments

(The Sun Daily) – PKR MPs may prove to be the deciding factor in passing the private members bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).

The bill is expected to be tabled for second reading and put to a vote in the next parliament seating next year, where it needs at least 112 votes to secure a simple majority.

However, with only 86 Umno MPs and 14 from PAS expected to vote in favour of the bill (100 in total), that would mean it will require at least 12 more votes if the amendment was to see the light of day.

Other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, including the likes of MCA, MIC and Gerakan, have made their disapproval of Act 355 clear.

More recently, Sarawak chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem ordered the state BN MPs to oppose the private member’s bill, which accounts for 25 votes (10 of which are Muslim MPs).

With all that factoring in, the onus now lies on opposition Muslim MPs, in particular PKR (who has 16 of them), to be the deciding factor.

If either Umno or PAS could convince all 16 into supporting the private member’s bill, the amendment to Act 355 will succeed as the votes will exceed the minimum requirement for a simple majority.

PKR has also on several occasions in the past claimed they would still like to work together with PAS, despite the recent disintegration of Pakatan Rakyat, due largely to DAP not supporting the Islamist party’s “hudud” bill.

PKR would, however, be well reminded that voting for the bill could potentially affect their relationship with DAP.

Its secretary-general Rafizi Ramli, when contacted, said the party had in the past already made a decision on the bill, but did not reveal what it was.

“We know this is what BN wanted all along. To see the opposition crumble and go against one another,” he told theSun today.

Amanah, a PAS splinter party with six MPs, will also be on the fence whether or not to vote for or against the bill, with the party currently not seeing eye to eye with PAS.

The party, however, could be pressured into supporting the amendments, knowing that it, too, is an Islamist party.

It now remains to be seen whose ship PKR, and Amanah will jump on when the debate and voting to pass the bill is held in the next parliamentary session.