Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak made an unexpected announcement last night that the government will not take the lead in PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's move to enhance punishment by the syariah courts.

This was announced after the BN supreme council meeting, and Najib, who is the coalition's chairperson and Umno president, said the decision was made based on consensus.

BN component parties, including those in Sarawak, have been opposed to the matter.

However, Najib was coy when asked if this meant BN MPs would not support or vote for the bill when it is tabled.

"Maybe there will be a vote, or not. Up to the speaker's instructions," he said.

BN component parties have hailed the decision, but does it mean that the issue is shelved?

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Asyraf Wajdi Dasuki, who oversees Islamic affairs, had clarified that BN's decision does not mean the coalition is rejecting the amendments proposed to Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).

Tightrope act ahead

It is unlikely that Najib would put foot his down on a matter concerning Islam, as it has the potential for an electoral backlash from Malay/Muslim voters, whose support is crucial for Umno to maintain its grip on power.

This is the reason certain opposition parties have also been tip-toeing around the matter.

Therefore, should Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia give the green light, it is possible that Najib would leave it to the Muslim MPs to vote according to their conscience.

However, such a move would, once again, put BN component parties in a quandary over the matter.

It would also be important for Najib to ensure that his own Umno members do not balk at the decision not to take over the bill.

Internally, the prime minister has been building up the case for cooperation with PAS, Umno's traditional rival, for several years.

Beginning with the Putrajaya-Kelantan hudud technical committee in 2014, Najib followed up in 2015 by making sure his party members provided carte blanche backing for Kelantan's amendments to the Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment 1993.

But the centrepiece of the Umno-PAS collage was Hadi's bill to amend Act 355 and Najib's apparent interest in seeing it passed.

Najib even told the Umno general assembly in December last year that Putrajaya would take over Hadi's bill and that Nov 24, 2016 - the day the bill was tabled - was a "historic" day.

After the long build-up, Umno grassroots would be eagerly anticipating the fruits of Najib's flirtations with PAS.

Asking Umno MPs now to vote against an opposition bill to show respect for BN's consensus model would only make Najib look weak and indecisive.

Similarly, last night's decision, which has been described as a U-turn, has also caused problems for Hadi and those aligned to him, who have been accused of siding with Najib and Umno.