There needs to be more in-depth discussions of the 'Hudud Bill' brought forth by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, said Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), and this includes non-Muslims.

“Abim calls for this motion to be discussed and debated in a thorough and open manner during the next Parliament proceedings,” Abim president Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim.

There also needs to be a genuine discussion of this issue with various stakeholders such as political parties and civil society, including those who are non-Muslims, he added.

Islam belongs to all Muslims, he said, and not exclusively to certain parties with their own political agenda that changes seasonally.

This hudud issue will have a great effect in Malaysia, across all religions and races, he explained, as the legal processes and technical details are still kept under wraps and have not been explained properly.

“Hence, Abim stresses that the wish to implement this Islamic law has to be in line with the principle of maqasid al shari’ah by making sure it achieves what it was truly meant for, which is to ensure justice for the people,” he said.

'Don't politicise hudud'

He reminded that the debates and discussions are important because if this issue is not handled seriously and is brought up occasionally based on the interests of political parties, it would be easy for people to react negatively and have a bad impression of Islam in general.

The bill is officially named the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill 2016.

It has been popularly referred to as the 'Hudud Bill' as it would ultimately pave the way for the partial implementation of the Islamic penal code, specifically in PAS-ruled Kelantan, which had already passed an enactment to that effect.

However, the Kelantan state's enactment cannot be implemented as long as restrictions exist in federal law that limit syariah court sentencing powers.

Hadi’s bill seeks to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, which limits the syariah courts’ punishments to a maximum fine of RM5,000, three years' jail or six strokes of the rotan.