PKR's maverick Kulim Bandar Baharu parliamentarian Zulkifli Noordin appears to be heading for more trouble as 20 of the 24 personal motions he submitted during the current parliamentary session dealt with controversial Islamic issues.

For this he has come under attack from Gerakan president and minister in the prime minister's department Koh Tsu Koon as someone attempting to push for constitutional amendments to Islamise the country.

According to press reports, while speaking at the 41th anniversary dinner of Perak Gerakan last night, Koh claimed that the 20 motions submitted on Oct 19 were to amend the supreme law of the country to push forward the Islamisation agenda.

NONE He also lambasted the PKR and the DAP for keeping silent on the issue while being adamant about maintaining a secular nation.

But, a check by Malaysiakini found that only four of the 20 Islam-related motions by Zulkifli ( left ) were related to constitutional amendments .

According to the order paper dated Oct 19, the main amendment was to announce that Malaysia is not a secular country.

Zulkifli also suggested that Islamic laws be independent of the constitution, Muslims should be required to convert in accordance with Islamic laws and expand the jurisdiction of religious courts.

Besides, the other 16 Islam-related motions had also touched on many controversial religious issues in recent years.

These issues included the banning of alcohol and condoms sold in convenience stores, investigating Sisters in Islam, the Kartika case, air stewardess' uniforms and banning Muslim maids from working for non-Muslim families.

He also urged the minister in charge of religious affairs to speed up the prosecution of Mohd Saiful Bukhari's qazaf allegation, levelled against him by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

No chance of Parliamentary debate

However, not all the motions on religious matters were controversial. Zulkifli suggested that the government form a parliamentary caucus to discuss Islamic matters, allow Muslims to withdraw their central provident fund (CPF) to perform the haj and release Islamic militants detained under the infamous Internal Security Act.

malaysia parliament parlimen building 050907 front In four other motions which were not related to Islamic matters, he also touched on several public interest issues.

He proposed that the government set up a parliamentary caucus on Indian issues aimed at improving their welfare and solving their citizenship issue.

The other suggestion included the setting up of a National Book Council, the creation of specialised compartments in LRTs and trains for women and, releasing prisoners held for more than 20 years.

However, parliamentarians will most probably have no chance to debate these motions because the government's bills and motions are normally prioritised.

The lower house is currently debating Budget 2010. Besides, there are 18 more government bills and motions waiting in queue.

According to an order paper dated Oct 19, Zulkifli's motions were listed from 33 to 56.

However, in today's order paper, these motions had already dropped to the 39th to 62nd positions.