The Restoration of Faith Bill which was passed in the Perlis state assembly earlier this year has not been scrapped but has merely been set aside for the present.

This is contrary to the statement made yesterday by Abdul Hamid Othman, the minister who oversees religious matters in the Prime Minister's Department, that Perlis has scrapped the bill on the (federal) government's advice.

According to Kangar PAS deputy commissioner Zulkarnain Abidin, the Bill has yet to be gazetted into law.

He told malaysiakini that under the Restoration of Faith Bill, apostate Muslims would be brought before the judge who will ask the accused to repent. If they do not repent, they will be detained for a year of rehabilitation at a special centre set up for this purpose.

After that one year in rehabilitation, the accused will again be asked to repent. If the accused still refuses to do so, the judge will record the refusal and the accused will be free to go as an apostate.

Strong opposition

Zulkarnain said that as far as he has been informed, the Bill has merely been set aside due to strong opposition not only from the opposition members but also academics.

"I have been told by sources that academics and legal advisers felt that the Bill does not serve as a practical law to stop Muslims from being apostates," said Zulkarnain, who is also the state assemblyman of Santan in Perlis.

"We, the opposition, opposed the Bill when it was presented due to a number of reasons.

"One, we are of the opinion that the bill does not exactly serve to protect Muslims from becoming apostates. In fact, it makes it easier for apostate Muslims to be recognised and acknowledged.

"Secondly, there is no mandatory death sentence for a person who insists on being an apostate even after rehabilitation, in accordance with Hukum Syarak , the divine laws of Islam," said Zulkarnain.

"It has yet to be gazetted or presented in the Parliament (as a Federal law) but it has been widely debated due to the overzealousness of the Perlis Mentri Besar Shahidan Kassim in publicising it," Zulkarnain said, adding there is much confusion of whether the Bill has been passed or not.

Efforts by malaysiakini to contact Shahidan or Hamid for comments have not been successful.