KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang today filed a preliminary objection against a group’s bid to prevent Parliament from discussing his private member’s bill to implement hudud, arguing that they should seek a judicial review instead of an injunction.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, who is representing Hadi, said that the application for an injunction would also be defeated if the PAS president’s objection is accepted.

“They shouldn’t go through the originating summons, but should go by way of judicial review. They have not done that, so we raised the objection,” he told reporters this morning.

High Court judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad fixed October 5 for the decision on the preliminary objection.

In June, a group of “concerned citizens” filed for the injunction to prevent federal lawmakers from debating Hadi’s private member’s bill to remove the legal barriers preventing PAS from enforcing the Islamic penal code in Kelantan.

The group named Hadi, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Mulia Amin, Deputy Speakers Datuk Ronald Kiandee and Datuk Ismail Mohamad Said as well as Dewan Rakyat Secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah as respondents in their application.

Hadi submitted his private member’s bill earlier this year, but was unable to table it in Parliament during the last two sittings ostensibly due to a lack of time.

To implement hudud in Kelantan, PAS is seeking to amend the Shariah Court Act (Criminal Jurisdiction) 1965 or Act 355, which currently only allows the Shariah courts to mete out punishments limited to RM3,000 fine, five years’ jail and six strokes of caning.

Critics of Hadi’s move argue that hudud is unconstitutional in secular Malaysia.

Parliament is due to reconvene on October 19.