PAS is seeking to void a suit intended to prevent the party from tabling a private members' bill on hudud law in Parliament, based on a technicality.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court will deliver its decision on October 5 on whether the party can do so.

This is over a suit filed by four "concerned citizens" , namely lawyers Mansoor Saat, Azira Aziz, Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar and Hazwany Jamaluddin, who are seeking an injunction against the tabling of the bill on grounds that it is unconstitutional.

The suit had named PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia ( photo ), Dewan Rakyat deputy speakers Ismail Mohd Said and Ronald Kiandee and Parliament secretary Roosme Hamzah.

The injunction application which was to be heard today before High Court Judge Asmabi Mohamad was put off after Hadi's lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah raised a preliminary objection on a procedural issue.

The judge instead heard the preliminary objection by Sulaiman who argued that the plaintiff's suit was wrongly filed.

Procedural problem

Explaining the matter after the hearing, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said Sulaiman argued that the plaintiff should have filed a judicial review instead of an originating summons.

"We are objecting over a procedural problem. When they (plaintiffs) want to touch on the authorities' administrative power - in this case the Parliament - they have to go through a judicial review.

"But they brought an originating summons so we argued on this and they also objected. So the court set October 5 to decide on the matter," he said.

Takiyuddin said if the court accepts that the suit is defective, the suit will be void.

"But if the court does not accept our preliminary objection, then the case will proceed with the two original applications," he said.

Aside from the injunction sought by the "concerned citizens", Abdul Hadi has filed his own application to have the suit struck out.

Also present at the KL Court Complex was PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan and some 20 supporters.

Abdul Hadi ( photo ), who is also Marang MP, is seeking the partial implementation of hudud law by amending the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 in Parliament.

He is seeking to remove the punishment cap impose on Syariah Courts which can only mete out a fine of up to RM5,000 or six months imprisonment or six strokes of the rotan.

PAS believes this will allow the use to the currently unimplemented Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 which among others, provides for up to 100 strokes of caning for adultery, as it will no longer be in contradiction with federal law.

However, the party's detractors have argued that this is still not possible without a constitutional amendment.

Abdul Hadi had submitted a notice to Parliament for the amendment bill to be tabled since March this year but it had yet to be debated as a long list of government bills take precedent.