The Kelantan state government's implementation of the hudud law will still be unconstitutional even if it manages to get two private member's bills passed with simple majority in Parliament, prominent lawyer and lawmaker R Sivarasa said today.

The PKR MP for Subang said even if PAS succeeds in amending the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 and seeking permission via Article 76 (A) of the federal constitution, implementing hudud will still contravene Article 8 of the federal constitution.

PAS is seeking to amend the Syariah Courts Act to extend the maximum sentence permissible under the syariah courts, before seeking special permission to allow Kelantan to implement its own criminal justice system.

Both bills need only a simple majority to pass, and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has already submitted the bill to amend the Syariah Courts Act.

"It will still be unconstitutional, because Article 8 is very clear about that. Hudud ventures into the criminal justice system," Sivarasa said when asked during a forum in Shah Alam today.

However, he branded Abdul Hadi's private member's bill move as "posturing", pointing out that the bills cannot to be put into debate unless BN as a whole decides to adopt and propose them.

Despite Kelantan having passed its enactment last Wednesday, cabinet and Prime Minister Najib Razak has not commented on the move at federal level.

BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor when asked today continued to dodge questions on the ruling coalition's stand, brushing off PAS's bill as being merely " political hudud ".

Gerakan challenge 'naive'

He also described Gerakan's move to challenge the hudud implementation in court as a "joke", saying the move reeked of legal naivety.

"The moment a judge hears the case, the judge would say how are they going to review a law that is not there," Sivarasa said.

He said that a judicial review or any challenge for a law can only be made if the law has been passed, assented, and then gazetted.

"Even the gazette has an effective date, only after that date can we challenge (the law)," he said.

However, he said if PAS manages to get Hadi's private member's bill through Parliament, the move can and will probably be challenged in the courts.