Parti Amanah Negara has suggested the setting-up of a special committee to review the effectiveness of the syariah courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355 in the motion submitted by its lawmaker Siti Mariah Mahmud.

“This is to study the issues of empowerment of the syariah court from all aspects, including if the punishment meted out by the syariah court is a deterrent,” a source told Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity.

The committee needs to propose the types of punishment and the limits of the punishment if it finds that the punishments stipulated in Act 355 are inadequate, he said.

Act 355 only allows a maximum punishment of three years’ jail, RM5,000 fines and six strokes of the rotan.

All the proposals, which will be tabled in Parliament for debate and if passed, should conform to the federal constitution, he said.

“This is not like PAS, (which seeks to) do away with the current (provision under) Act 355 and give a blank cheque to the syariah court,” he added.

Amanah had submitted its motion last week as an ‘alternative’ to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill on Act 355, which will pave the way for Kelantan to implement hudud.

Hadi’s motion emerged in the parliamentary order paper in the ongoing Dewan Rakyat sitting, which will end on Nov 24.

The source, however emphasised that Amanah’s motion has nothing to do with hudud.

He argued that Amanah’s proposal on the punishment was merely a normal administrative matter as the civil court will review their punishment every five to 10 years to ensure the penalty can serve as a deterrent.

The source also asked if the empowerment to Act 355 will partially allow hudud to be implemented in Kelantan.

“In our constitution, certain acts fall under the syariah court while the other acts fall under the civil court.

“Those acts which fall under the civil court cannot be under the syariah court, so there is no way that hudud can be implemented... except for certain acts which fall under the jurisdiction of the syariah court, which include drinking and adultery for unmarried people.

“But, this (hudud) is not the intention of our motion,” he said.

“We want to improve the syariah court’s efficiency, professionalism, and qualified personnel,” he added.

Three other aspects the special committee will study are:

(1) To increase the efficiency of the syariah court, among others, by upgrading the professionalism of judges and staff.

(2) To study problems faced by the syariah court in terms of support from private and public sector, as well as ways to overcome the problems.

(3) To study the wage scale of syariah court judges. There is a huge disparity between syariah court judges who only enjoyed RM5,000 monthly income, while judges from Civil Family Courts get RM40,000, or eight times higher.

Gag order

It is reported that Amanah has issued a gag order on its motion until it appears in the parliamentary order paper.

The source expected that their motion will appear in the order paper in two weeks, after the debate on the 2017 Budget.

Heavier punishment for both criminal and civil matters

Meanwhile, Sin Chew Daily reported that Amanah wants to see a heavier punishment for both criminal and civil matters that are heard in the syariah court.

The daily quoted Siti Mariah as saying this in her oral motion.

The Amanah wanita chief said the special committee should comprises the states’ syarie chief judge, professionals, cleric and the relevant authorities.

“Beside the three punishments stipulated in Act 355, the committee should study other punishments which contain the element of education and morality so the court can adopt it.

“All the proposals should be in line with the requirements of the federal constitution. This is to prevent a constitutional crisis,” she said.

“Hadi’s private member’s bill has indirectly paved the way for hudud, but Amanah (only) supports a heavier penalty for the sake of education and counselling,” said a source from the Amanah central committee.

He, however stressed the party wants to uplift the authority of the syariah court pertaining to the court’s orders and on the protection of women, particularly on their rights related to marriage.

“Beside criminal law, there is a need to increase the punishment on matters that are heard by the court - marriage, asset distribution and custody,” he said.

“For instance, the syariah court cannot do anything if a husband refuses to pay alimony to his ex-wife, but the civil court can put the husband in jail. We want equal power to be given to the syariah court,” he said.