KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — A PAS MP has defended Kelantan’s by-law that fines and jails Muslim men who skip Friday prayers for three consecutive times, saying last night it is needed to “preserve the peace” in the Muslim-majority state.

According to Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abd Aziz, Muslim men must not be seen flouting their Islamic obligations in public, as it will encourage others to do the same, thus “disturbing the public”.

At a forum discussing the limits between the powers of the state and personal freedom, the MP said that skipping Friday prayers is different from skipping the daily prayers, as the latter can be performed at home, thus skipping them will not “disturb the public”.

PAS state government came under fire last month for its move to enforce the 10-year old Kelantan Council of the Religion of Islam and Malay Custom Enactment 1994 starting this year.

The Kelantan by-law empowers state authorities to fine Muslim men up to RM1,000 or put them behind bars for up to a year, or both, for failing to attend Friday prayers thrice in a row.

Nik Abduh claimed that skipping Friday prayers is a major sin, citing a hadith—the collected sayings of Prophet Muhammad—claiming that the messenger had wished to burn the houses of those who skip their prayers, and hunt men who skip Friday prayers.

The PAS central committee member also claimed that all Muslim governments at some point in time have enacted a law to punish skipping Friday prayers, and as a Muslim country, Malaysia’s number one objective should be to preserve the sanctity of Islam.

Nik Abduh said the state government plans to enforce the by-law by requiring each Muslim men to register his attendance with his parish mosque, or “mukim”.

According to him, nobody has been prosecuted under the law because imams in Kelantan had taken care of their own parish, ensuring that none of their congregation skips the Friday prayers thrice in a row.

However the PAS MP related that there has been cases where male villagers were emboldened to skip Friday prayers due to lax enforcement by the imam, and he blamed the village of being Umno supporters who lack Islamic education.

Critics have called the law “overkill” for treating Muslims like “hardened criminals” placed under restricted residence, and suggested that it will be hard to enforce with Kelantan’s track record.