PBDSB to take on SPDP in GE14 for supporting Act 355
KUCHING: PBDS Baru will take on Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party ( SPDP) in the coming 14th General Election ( GE14) if the latter continues to support the Bill to amend the Syariah Courts Act ( Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1966) (Act 355) in parliament.
The party leaders led by president Cobbold John and deputy president Patrick Anek Uren yesterday told reporters that PBDS Baru would contest in the four seats held by SPDP to oppose their move to support the Act 355.
They said the party would however not contest against Parti Rakyat Sarawak ( PRS) which has objected to Act 355 by resolving that all its six MPs voted against the bill in the current parliament session.
“We will go for all the four seats held by SPDP and contest against their candidates. We will also go for other seats. But we will not contest in seats held by PRS who already objected the Act 355. By objecting the Act 355, they therefore can be our friends,” said Anek.
SPDP, a Barisan Nasional component, currently holds Mas Gading, Saratok, Bintulu and Baram parliamentary seats.
President of SPDP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing recently indicated his party’s support for Act 355. Even Saratok MP Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, who won the seat on SPDP ticket before leaving the party, had also expressed support for the Bill.
So far, only SUPP and PRS from Sarawak BN have made public their objections against Act 355.
Parti Islam SeMalaysia ( PAS) president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had last year tabled
We will go for all the four seats held by SPDP and contest against their candidates. We will also go for other seats. But we will not contest in seats held by PRS who already objected the Act 355. By objecting the Act 355, they therefore can be our friends. Patrick Anek Uren, PBDS Baru deputy president
a Private Member Bill to seek amendments to Act 355 to enhance the punishment meted out by the Syariah Court.
The Bill has proposed to increase the jail term from the present maximum of three years to 30 years, fine of RM5,000 to RM100,000 and the maximum six lashes to 100 lashes.
Hadi’s Bill has been met with strong opposition from nonMuslims for fear that once passed, it would pave the way for the implementation of hudud in the country. Due to the strong opposition from other component parties such as MCA and MIC, Umno, which is also supportive of the bill, had decided to take over and table it as a government bill.
In the current parliamentary meeting, it is expected that the bill will be debated and a vote may be called for it to be passed.
Meanwhile, PBDS Baru in a media statement stated that any law on hudud under whatever guise and form is against the spirit and intent of Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63), and against the Federal Constitution.
“Our Nation’s founding fathers had started this country on a secular foundation when they signed on to making Sarawak a partner in the formation of Malaysia under and by virtue of MA63. This secular founding principle must remain sacrosanct and unaltered. And no party and or individual shall be allowed to introduce any law which is contrary to, and or that which will erode that founding principle. Any attempt at changing that secular founding principle will risk this country breaking apart,” they said.
They also viewed it as hugely alarming that the Act 355, after receiving the blessing of Umno and other BN components, notably SPDP from Sarawak, will be debated and might be voted into law by Parliament in its current session.
“We view this proposed Act 355 as potentially a very bad law. When passed in Parliament and becomes law, it will signal this nation is entering into a new and dangerous phase.
“For one, it will make this nation Malaysia as a totally Islamic country, and a totally different nation from the one founded by our forefathers under MA63. And for another, it will make Malaysia no longer be a country of diverse races and where freedom of religion will continue to flourish,” they said.
They also said PBDS Baru will join the rank of the majority who stand opposed to Act 355, and will oppose all those who support it to becoming law in the next General Election.
“Our firm belief is that existing laws are more than adequate for the purpose of maintenance of law and order in this temporal world,” they said.