Sultan yet to sign controversial hudud bill: PAS
PAS politicians today clarified that the Sultan of Terengganu has yet to officially give his consent to the Hudud Bill which was passed by the state assembly last month.
"Officially the bill has not been assented to yet," said Teremgganu state exco and PAS Dungun parliamentarian Mustafa Ali.
However, he did not envisage any problem on the matter from the palace. "I would say that the Sultan has unofficially agreed to it," he said.
Mustafa, who is also party vice-chairperson, said that no time frame had been given for the royal consent since it was a matter left entirely up to Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.
It is not vital for the Sultan to give his endorsement as the state legislation provides for enactments to take effect 30 days after receiving approval of the state assembly even without the Sultan's consent.
However, a royal endorsement for the controversial bill will give the ruling PAS a political boost.
When contacted, palace spokesperson Major Mohd Rosli refused to comment on the matter.
Zahari Mohd, press secretary to Terengganu Mentri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang also could not be reached for comment.
In a malaysiakini report on Wednesday, Zahari said that Sultan Mizan had already inked his approval, giving the bill his official consent.
PAS parliamentarian for Kuala Terengganu Syed Azman Syed Ahmad told malaysiakini today that the state government was still waiting for the royal consent.
A Bernama report which was carried in Malay language daily Berita Harian on Wednesday quoted Abdul Hadi as saying that the Sultan had given his consent but had yet to sign the bill.
However, Abdul Hadi said in a statement yesterday that he had been misquoted by the press and that he had only met with the Sultan to explain the bill to him.
Burden of proof
The Hudud Bill, which evoked strong criticism from various quarters, was passed by the state assembly on July 8.
The Islamic criminal laws proposed by the state government had been vigorously opposed, particularly by the federal government, a number of political parties, non-governmental organisations and women's groups.
Provisions relating to rape were stringently opposed as being discriminatory towards women.
It was argued that the burden of proof would rest on the victim. The law also required the victim to present four Muslim male witnesses to the act to enable the court to consider a conviction.
Last month, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the federal government would obstruct the implementation of the bill.
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