PAS never forgot efforts to push for Act 355 - youth chief

PAS has never forgotten its commitment to table the amendment of Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, or Act 355, said its youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari.

On the contrary, he said PAS, which is part of the ruling coalition, is working on the drafting of Act 355.

“On Act 355, PAS has never forgotten. As part of the government, PAS stepped up its efforts in drafting Act 355 in order to empower the criminal jurisdiction of the syariah court,” he said.

“Various aspects have been looked at, especially from the angle of the Federal Constitution, the law and the Islamic law, so that the syariah court is more comprehensive,” he told the PAS Youth annual assembly in Alor Setar today.

The annual assembly was officiated by party deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

On Aug 3, Kelantan PAS deputy commissioner III Mohamed Fadzli Hassan hinted that its efforts to amend Act 355 to enable the implementation of hudud will soon have a happy ending.

“We have reached the 15th stage out of 24 (stages) and, God willing, I received a message from a minister that soon, Act 355 will reach the end as we wish,” he said as reported by Malaysiakini.

Last September, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob confirmed that the government was in the midst of formulating Act 355 amendments.

The previous BN administration had allowed Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang to table a private members’ bill seeking the amendment of Act 355 in 2017.

However, the Dewan Rakyat sitting was postponed and the bill was never debated.

Hadi was seeking amendments to Act 355 which would raise the caps of all penalties that could be imposed by Syariah Courts.

This includes raising the current penalty caps (three years’ jail, RM5,000 fine and six lashes) to 30 years’ jail, RM100,000 fine, and 100 lashes.

PAS has come under pressure to ensure that the bill is passed in Parliament since it become part of ruling coalition in February 2020.

During the Pakatan Harapan administration, PAS leaders had repeatedly urged the government to work on the passage of Act 355, which never happened.

Only two states - Kelantan and Terengganu - currently have Syariah courts that impose corporal punishments, including death sentences.

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