Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) has expressed concern that women might be victimised even further if amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 are passed.

This is because, it said, the amendments will remove the barrier for the PAS state government in Kelantan to implement some of the punishments in the Syariah Criminal Code that was passed by the Kelantan state legislative assembly last year.

In turn, the evidence requirements, as proposed under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code, would cause more injustices to arise, GBM said.

"Under the Syariah Criminal Code 2015 of Kelantan, only male Muslims have full competence to testify as witnesses in all offences, and at least four witnesses are required in proving adultery offences.

"For instance, a woman accusing her husband of adultery may potentially be found guilty of the offence of qazaf, and be punished with 80 lashes of whipping if she is not able to produce four male witnesses.

"Such a demanding evidence requirement poses a high risk of false accusation, especially in a highly patriarchal society.

"There are also questions as to the weight of scientific evidence and circumstantial evidence given in the syariah criminal judicial process," GBM said in a statement yesterday.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang brought forth a Private Member's Bill seeking to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, which limits the syariah court's punishments to a maximum fine of RM5,000, three years' jail or six strokes of the rotan.

GBM said that the amendments would replace the limitation of punishments with a broad and general clause of "punishments permitted under syariah laws", which will enable all forms of punishments permitted under syariah laws to be meted out, except the death penalty.

'Will pave way for amputation'

This will eventually pave the way for hudud punishments, such as amputation for theft and robbery and stoning for adultery and sodomy to be implemented, it said.

"If the amendment bill is passed, the last remaining hurdle for the implementation of hudud punishments will be the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which requires two-thirds majority in Parliament to pass any amendment," the group said.

The passing of the amendment bill would also open the floodgates for other states to introduce amendments to their Syariah Criminal Code to impose harsher punishments.

"We maintain that the punishment of whipping causes serious bodily harm and constitutes a form of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, that are inconsistent with international human rights law," it said.

It stressed that it believes that Islam is a religion of compassion, peace and justice.

"While religion is a private matter between the individual and God, religious precepts should be instilled through education, rather than imposed by force and harsh punishment, which runs counter to the teaching of Islam as a religion with no compulsion," it said.

Hadi's Private Member's Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 is set to be debated in the next session of Parliament, which begins in October.