Act 355 to heat up Dewan Rakyat session, sitting begins Monday
KUALA LUMPUR: The first meeting of the fifth term of the 13th Parliament, which begins this Monday, will undoubtedly focus on the proposal to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) and the position of the opposition camp which was seen to be rocky and losing its direction.
The Parliament sitting, which is for 20 days from this Monday to April 6, will be officiated by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V and will be held at the main Parliament building as the upgrading works on the building, carried out since 2012, were now completed.
Presentation of the bills and the amendments were expected to attract attention of this sitting.
Hoping for a smooth and orderly sitting, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said: “The government will give emphasis and focus more on the issues of bills such as the Bankruptcy Act 1967 (Act 360) and the law on sexual crimes against children in addition to several other amendments.
She said the government was considering to improve the Bankruptcy Act 1967 (Act 360) with the matter of concern being those who acted as guarantors especially social guarantors to lenders who failed to repay the loan.
“The government believes these people should not be charged for the loans taken by others,” she said.
For the proposed Child Sexual Crimes Act, Azalina previously said that it would be brought to Parliament at the sitting in March for the first and second reading after the Cabinet approval.
The proposal was currently in drafting stage at the AttorneyGeneral's Chambers and the Cabinet had also agreed to set up a special court to handle cases involving the Act, thus solving criminal cases of sexual crimes against children without much delay.
In this session, the focus would also be upon the proposal to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).
However, Azalina declined to say whether it would be presented at this sitting.
The proposal to amend Act 355 for the first time brought to the Dewan Rakyat in May 2016 and the motion was again read by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on Nov 24 last year and it was expected to be elaborated further during this sitting.
Another focus would be on the perceived turmoil in the opposition camp when political cooperation between PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) was coming apart due to differing views regarding Bill 355 namely from DAP and Amanah. — Bernama