MCA has denied that it will not oppose PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s bill which seeks to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, said publicity bureau chairperson Chai Kim Sen.

The BN component party has consistently opposed the tabling of Hadi’s bill, commonly referred to as the ‘hudud bill’, Chai said.

“MCA cabinet ministers even announced that they are willing to give up cabinet posts if the bill is passed in Parliament.

“Moreover, Wanita MCA went on a one million signature campaign nationwide and MCA Youth had also carried out the ‘Upholding Federal Constitution’ campaign immediately,” he said.

He was responding to reports that claimed MCA will not protest the tabling of the hudud bill.

MCA has always been vocal in its opposition to the bill, he said, pointing out that MCA president Liow Tiong Lai had immediately gathered his counterparts from the other component parties to protest the bill on the same day a motion was tabled to fast-track it.

They had also raised objections to the bill in the cabinet meeting, Chai said, as they uphold the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

“The bill is a backdoor method to formally enforce the Kelantan hudud enactments.

“There is nothing stopping other states in Malaysia from introducing hudud enactments in their state legislation, as well as PAS or Umno legislators to push for religious-based criminal codes,” he said.

Even currently, he said, MCA is helping the Federation of Hokkien Associations Malaysia gather one million signatures nationwide to oppose the bill.

Hadi’s bill seeks to strengthen the syariah courts, by removing the limits on punishments they can mete out.

Currently, under the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, or Act 355, the syariah courts’ punishments are limited to a maximum fine of RM5,000, three years’ jail or six strokes of the rotan.

The bill is referred to as the ‘hudud bill’ as it would ultimately pave the way for the partial implementation of the Islamic penal code, specifically in PAS-ruled Kelantan, which has already passed an enactment to that effect.

However, the Kelantan state enactment cannot be implemented as long as the punishment limits meted out by the syariah courts remain.