PAS splinter party Amanah believes the best place to discuss the planned amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) is the Parliament.

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub said in a statement today the party agreed with efforts to strengthen the syariah court and even has its own suggestions, which it would put forward in Parliament.

His comments come two days after PAS announced that it would be holding a rally in support of Act 355, on Feb 18.

The Islamist party's information chief Nasruddin Hasan said Amanah and other political parties would also be invited to join the rally, planned to be held at Dataran Merdeka.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz has rejected the idea of the rally being held at the iconic location and has advised the organisers to opt for Stadium Titiwangsa instead.

Meanwhile, Salahuddin told Malaysiakini that Amanah had yet to receive PAS' official invitation to the rally, and said they will only decide then on whether to attend.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is pushing to amend the Act, and raise the punishment cap for syariah offences to 30 years’ jail, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the whip.

The Umno-led government will be taking over the bill during its second reading.

Amanah has submitted its own planned amendments to Act 355 in Parliament last November, but it was rejected by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

The party said ther amendments were different from Hadi's, but the contents of their motion have not been revealed.