PAS-ruled Terengganu state government today approved plans to enact strict criminal laws for errant Muslims in a move to restore "God's laws" despite public opposition.

The state assembly gave the green light for the Syariah Criminal Bill on its second day of sitting.

All 28 PAS members in the 32-seat assembly supported the bill, which seeks to criminalise illicit sex, drinking alcohol and the renunciation of Islam, lawmaker Rosol Wahid told AFP .

Rosol, who is from Umno, said he and three other Umno assemblymen had abstained from voting after voicing their protests during debates since Sunday.

Umno is the opposition party in the Terengganu state assembly

The bill would be sent to the state ruler for endorsement before it is gazetted, he said.

But Rosol said he believed PAS has little chance of imposing the law as the federal government, controlled by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's coalition, has power to block it under the constitution.

PAS had tried in 1993 to impose syariah criminal laws in neighbouring Kelantan state which it also controls but the move was vetoed by the federal government.

The bill carries punishments such as stoning to death for adultery, amputation of limbs for theft, death for robbery, and 40-80 lashes of the whip for consuming alcohol.

For those renouncing Islam, offenders are given three days to repent, failing which the punishment is death and confiscation of property.

Discarding colonial mentality

Terengganu chief minister Abdul Hadi Awang, who is PAS acting president, when tabling the bill Monday declared that the state was restoring God's laws to frighten criminals into reforming and to deter potential offenders.

"We are merely reinstating Islamic law which was trampled on, condemned and forgotten as a result of the colonial mentality that had struck Muslims in the country," he said.

Mahathir has accused PAS of wanting to introduce an oppressive Islamic state and said the federal government would block PAS from imposing the syariah laws which were unfair and not based on true Islamic teachings.

The PAS move was also criticised by its former ally, the DAP, which warned it would erode support for the opposition in general election which must be called by 2004.

Women's groups and civil activists have also joined in the protest, saying the laws discriminate against women as a rape victim who fails to produce proof of the crime would instead be found guilty of adultery.

PAS, which won control of Terengganu in 1999 elections and holds 27 of Malaysia's 193 federal parliament seats, has said it wants to create a theocratic Islamic state in this multi-cultural country.

But analysts said its support has been eroded in the wake of the Sept 11 terror attacks on the United States.

Muslims make up 60 percent of Malaysia's 23 million people, but syariah law has been opposed by members of the large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

At present, syariah law covers civil matters such as divorce for Malaysian Muslims but is not part of the criminal code under Mahathir's government. -AFP