Controversial PAS Bill deferred to next March
Published on: Friday, November 25, 2016
Kuala Lumpur: The controversial Private Member's Bill to amend the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Act 1965 has been deferred to the next Parliament meeting in March.PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, the Member of Parliament for Marang, earlier read out an amendment to the initial motion to amend the Act in the Dewan Rakyat. He requested to defer the motion to the next parliament meeting in March, saying "there are polemics among the members of public even though the Act involves Muslims and the Rulers Council.""I will explain the motion in the next sitting," he added.
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The amended motion seeks to increase the penalties under Section 2 of the Act, which currently stipulates a maximum three-year jail term or a minimum RM5,000 fine or a maximum of six strokes. In Hadi's motion, he has proposed to replace the penalties with a maximum of 30 years jail term or a maximum fine of RM100,000 or 100 strokes as administered in line with the Syariah laws.Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia clarified that Hadi's proposal was not a first reading but a notification on his amendments to the initial motion.He said the amendments does not affect the core principle of his motion, thus he could insert it.Datuk Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Amanah-Parit Buntar) asked if the government would take over the tabling of the amendments in the next sitting. "The government has not said how the process will be with the Bill. In the last session there was no debate and this led to problems.
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"The government should take proactive steps and form a committee to look into this. Otherwise it will create more hatred and confusion among the public. Public discourse is divisive," he said.
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Mujahid insisted for a date when the government would take over the Bill.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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