PAS’ Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 would set a bad precedent in Malaysia if passed, said Wanita MCA chief Heng Seai Kie.

She said it would set off a race to impose hudud law in states outside of Kelantan on the pretext of religious piety.

“Such a move will set a bad precedent and open the floodgates in all other states throughout Malaysia to table a similar private member’s bill, with more political entities contesting with each other to show a higher degree of religious piety but in actual fact, are battling for political expediency.

“By then, there is nothing to stop other PAS members of parliament from other states from tabling similar motion in the Dewan Rakyat to enforce whatever punishments are provided for in the respective state enactments,” she said in a statement today.

She said MCA would continue to object to the proposed amendments on grounds that it was discriminatory, and contrary to Article 3 of the Federal Constitution’s guarantee of equality before the law.

Heng said MCA is not anti-Islam but is fighting for a fair, equal, and just judicial system for Muslims by upholding the supremacy of the Federal Constitution.

Separately, Wanita MIC chief Mohana Muniandy echoed Heng’s sentiments, saying that hudud would never succeed in Malaysia because it is unconstitutional.

“The motion to empower the syariah courts to mete out sentences under hudud would also not be limited to Kelantan only; gradually when implemented, the entire nation would be affected thus putting the country in disarray.

“PAS’ interest in implementing the law is flimsy at best – just to create disunity among Malaysians and for vote buying; therefore we should reject it vehemently,” Mohana said.

She added that too little was being done to foster racial and religious integration, and too much was being done to segregate various communities instead.

Stiffer penalties

Meanwhile, Heng said that it was illogical to have a dual-track criminal justice system, and it was unfair especially to Muslims.

This is because the system provides for stiffer penalties for Muslims for the same offence, compared to non-Muslims. This in turn may cause friction between the two groups and jeopardise the religious harmony and national unity in Malaysia.

“As it is, Muslims and non-Muslims alike are already affected by by-laws or regulations imposed by local authorities in Kelantan, and previously in Kedah when PAS ruled the northern state from 2008 to 2013,” she said.

Heng was responding to a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who claimed that non-Muslims have nothing to fear from the proposed amendments as it would only affect Muslims.

She added that while the PAS-led Kelantan government has already passed hudud enactments in the state, the same should not occur in areas under BN administration.

This was because the BN-led government is well-known as a ‘well established, systematic, just, moderate, and inclusive government’, she said.

In an unprecedented move on May 26, the government had suspended its business in parliament and moved to debate PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill.

It was the last item on the parliament’s order paper, and private members’ bills are almost never debated in parliament as government business takes precedence and would typically occupy the entire parliamentary session.

Hadi himself then moved to postpone the debate, but not before causing an uproar from MPs on both sides of the political divide.

The bill seeks to amend Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act to raise the threshold of penalties which the syariah courts can mete out. Currently, they are limited to meting out punishments of up to RM5,000 fine, three years’ jail, or six strokes of the rotan.

In a bid to pave the way for implementing hudud in Kelantan, Hadi’s bill would amend the law such that syariah courts can impose any punishment allowed by the relevant syariah enactments except the death penalty.