Govt to take over ‘ hudud Bill’
> PAS president must first table motion in Dewan, says Azalina
KUALA LUMPUR: The tabling of the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 will be taken over by the government if the Dewan Rakyat endorses the motion introduced by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
According to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Abdul Hadi has to table his motion first in Parliament, and it has to be passed by a majority of the members.
“Abdul Hadi has to finish his motion first and it would be debated and voted,” she said.
“The government will then pick it up. There will be a statement and the minister in charge will read it as a government Bill,” she told reporters after the Umno general assembly opening ceremony at the Putra World Trade Centre.
Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak in his policy speech at the assembly had said that the government will take over the Private Member’s Bill introduced by Abdul Hadi, who is also Marang MP.
Abdul Hadi’s suggestion to enhance powers of the syariah courts has received opposition from various quarters, especially nonmuslim MPs, as they argued that it would pave the way for PAS to introduce hudud law in Kelantan.
After the Bill was deferred at the May meeting, Abdul Hadi introduced changes to his original Bill in a recent Parliament sitting, limiting punishments that could be meted out by syariah courts.