KUALA LUMPUR – PAS has again questioned the government on its plans for amendments to the shariah courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (RUU355).
PAS lawmaker Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary’s query comes in the wake of the Federal Court’s recent move to declare 16 provisions in Kelantan’s shariah criminal enactment as unconstitutional when deciding on a challenge filed by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter.
Taking aim at Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, Ahmad Marzuk, who is Pengkalan Chepa MP questioned the status of the draft on the proposed RUU355 amendments.
“The previous draft on the (amendment to) RUU355 has been reviewed and approved by the Attorney-General’s Chamber’s drafting division on October 7, 2022 and should be ready to be brought to Parliament at any time.
“My question to (Na’im) is, what exactly is the status of the draft now and will the government continue efforts PAS had previously initiated?” Marzuk said in a Facebook post today.
He also claimed that during his previous tenure as a deputy religious affairs minister, the issue of the shariah courts’ jurisdiction had been “studied comprehensively,” resulting in the RUU355 draft being completed “perfectly”.
This, he said, was despite the Perikatan Nasional government at the time having to deal with challenges posed by the Covid-19 global pandemic and political instability.
“The RUU355 draft was presented to states during the 27th Shariah and Civil Law Coordination Conference on October 11 to 12, 2021 and has gone through all the drafting processes in accordance with requirements,” he added.
“If the unity government is serious about strengthening the jurisdiction of the shariah courts, I suggest that the government continue to use the completed RUU355 draft so that processes involving the same stakeholders do not need to start from the beginning again.”
In 2016, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang submitted an amendment to RUU355 as a private member’s bill, to enact harsher punishments for shariah offences by raising the shariah courts’ maximum sentencing limits to 30 years’ jail, a RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the cane.
Currently, the limits are a jail term of three years, a RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the cane.
The bill saw significant backlash from the public, with some voicing concerns that the bill would allow injustices against Muslims and non-Muslims.
Last year, Na’im had told Parliament that the government plans to table the amendment bill alongside the Shariah Courts (Federal Territories) Bill in a bid to empower the shariah judicial system, following cabinet’s approval. – February 16, 2024