It is doubtful that Barisan Nasional has reached a “consensus decision” on PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's private member's bill, as the ruling coalition has yet to even hold a meeting on the matter.

This is according to Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong, who was weighing in on BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor's claim that the consensus decision had already been reached.

"I read about it, but I doubt it is really a 'consensus' as there is no specific meeting on the related issue.

"Hence no briefing (from Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong on this issue). The last BN meeting was about the Election Commission redelineation," Yong told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

He said that the party remains firm that Hadi's bill, which seeks to expand the range of powers the syariah courts can impose, is too open-ended and clearly against the Federal Constitution.

Gerakan will not compromise if the bill is to be debated in the coming parliament sitting, said Yong.

"I am contemplating to initiate a legal suit as the bill is in the list now and may go for second reading," he said.

After the last BN supreme council meeting, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai had reportedly asked the council not to allow Hadi's bill to go to the floor when parliament reconvenes on Oct 17

"It (Hadi's bill) is a private member's bill and not a government bill.

"Government bills should be given priority," Liow had said then.

Meanwhile, Tengku Adnan had said after that meeting that the matter was secret.

Hadi's bill seeks to strengthen the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, by removing the current limits of the syariah courts' punishment of a maximum fine of RM5,000, three years' jail or six strokes of the rotan.

It is 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 has already passed an enactment to that effect.

However, the Kelantan state enactment cannot be implemented as long as the punishment limits meted out by the syariah courts remain.

BN component parties such as MCA, MIC and Gerakan have strongly opposed the bill, with their top leaders vowing to resign from the Cabinet if it is passed.

In the last session of the parliamentary sitting, the government moved a motion to prioritise Hadi's bill, though the Marang MP requested for the debate to be postponed to the next parliamentary sitting, beginning on Oct 17.