PAS tempers east Malaysia’s hudud fear, says MPs can block law in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — PAS leaders have dismissed concerns raised in east Malaysia over Kelantan’s hudud plan, saying the controversial law would have no effect on Sabah and Sarawak, and any need to amend the Constitution for its enforcement would require the support of lawmakers in both states.

In response to claims by groups in Sabah and Sarawak that the strict Islamic penal code’s implementation would require a fresh Federal Constitution, PAS’s Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad disagreed, saying that all that may be required is tweaks to the current Constitution.

In such a case, he explained, east Malaysian MPs would then have the chance to block the Islamic law in Parliament as any constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds majority vote.

“If you want to have a constitutional amendment, you need two-thirds majority and the only way we can get two-thirds majority is for Sabah and Sarawak to be in agreement.

“If Sabah and Sarawak are not in agreement, then we can’t,” the Shah Alam MP told Malay Mail Online.

After successfully tabling and approving changes to Kelantan’s enactment on hudud last month, PAS notified Parliament of a Private Member’s Bill seeking to amend a federal law to allow the Shariah Courts to mete hudud punishments on Muslim offenders in the east coast state.

But the Bill, which was placed last on the Order Paper for the April sitting, lapsed when the proceedings concluded for the current session. According to parliamentary affairs minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, PAS would have to propose the same Bill during the next session scheduled for May.

To get such a Bill approved, PAS only needs a simple majority of 112 votes from the 222-seat House. With only 21 MPs, the Islamist party would need to rely on support from other parties to make the vote.

But without a constitutional amendment, however, it is believed that PAS may not be able to enforce hudud in Kelantan. The Ninth Schedule of the country’s supreme law, for example, effectively stipulates that the entire criminal justice system remains a federal jurisdiction.

Although Sabah and Sarawak MPs who form a substantial bloc with 55 seats cannot block proposed laws on their own, their votes would play a significant role in contributing to the 148 votes that PAS would need for a two-thirds majority vote to pass a constitutional amendment.

Despite this, however, Khalid also said that it is for the courts to decide whether a law that has been passed actually requires constitutional changes. He said the courts would likely not decide on the present “hypothetical situation” where PAS’ proposed laws have yet to be debated in Parliament.

Even then, the Selangor MP said PAS should not be “completely disallowed” from trying to bring in laws that would allow the enforcement of hudud, as long as it is done using democratic means.

Compliance with the Constitution could later be sought if required, he pointed out.

“The Kelantanese people should be allowed to pursue their objectives and desires through democratic means within the framework of the Constitution. Whether the Constitution allows or doesn’t allow, that’s for the courts to decide,” he said.

“The legal embodiment is in the Constitution, so as long as we go within framework of constitution, then it’s not against the basis of formation (of Malaysia),” he added.

Responding to fears raised by Sabah and Sarawak groups of non-Muslims losing out when testifying in Shariah courts under Kelantan’s hudud system for Muslims, Khalid suggested that it was possible to bring cases involving Muslims and non-Muslims before civil courts, saying that such finer details could still be discussed.

In his response, Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed, a leader in PAS’s influential Ulama Council, said PAS only wants to enforce hudud in Kelantan as the state government there had already enacted a law for its rollout in 1993.

“So I think Sabah and Sarawak don’t need to worry because we are not implementing in Sabah and Sarawak, only in Kelantan,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted, also saying these two states do not have a predominantly Muslim population unlike Kelantan and Terengganu where the majority or over 80 per cent of the residents are Muslim.

He also said the hudud law in Kelantan will only be applied to the state’s Muslim natives, reassuring Sabah and Sarawak that Muslims from their states that go to Kelantan would not fall under the strict Islamic criminal laws.

“So we don’t charge them because they are not Kelantanese, even Muslims from Johor or other states, if they come to Kelantan, it won’t apply to them,” he said, reiterating that the proposed private members Bills does not require constitutional amendments.

When contacted, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said he did not want to be involved in “endless debate” over hudud laws, further saying in a text message in response to the east Malaysian group’s claims: “Let those who think they have a case to take it up with relevant authorities.”

“It is up to them to take whatever avenue possible within the democratic process and framework,” he said, when asked if he meant that the Sabah and Sarawak groups should go to the courts for a decision on Kelantan’s hudud plans.

“We are pushing hudud along democratic lines... no reason to back down,” he replied when asked if PAS would reconsider or postpone its plans to implement hudud due to objections from Sabah and Sarawak.

Among other things, a group dubbed the Civil Society Organisations of Sabah and Sarawak said this week that a Shariah criminal justice system would go against the premise of a secular nation and promise of complete religious freedom — given when Sabah and Sarawak agreed to form Malaysia together with Malaya.