PAS postpones tabling of hudud bill

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has decided to postpone the tabling of a Private Member's Bill in the Dewan Rakyat over the implementation of hudud law in Kelantan to allow a joint Kelantan PAS-Federal Government technical committee to discuss the matter.
Party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said today that this came on the heels of the party's agreement to the formation of the panel on a government-to-government (G2G) basis.
Speaking to the press after a PAS central committee meeting on Saturday, he said the proposed bill would not be tabled at the next sitting of the Dewan Rakyat in June.
"This will allow the technical committee to make recommendations and take the next step," Abdul Hamid said, adding that PAS was serious about the implementation of hudud.
He said the committee will observe and review the suggestion towards implementing the Syariah Criminal code (II) 1993 State of Kelantan.
This comes in the wake of protests over the past few weeks by political leaders from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat coalition partners, religious groups and members of the public who are strongly against the introduction of hudud law.
MCA Youth went to the extent of threatening to form a human barricade outside parliament to prevent PAS MPs from getting in to table the bill.
The MIC also categorically refused to accept the implementation of hudud.
Abdul Hadi said Pakatan Rakyat partners, PKR and DAP, will be informed of the matter.
The hudud proposal was first raised by the party in April this year.
Towards the end of last month, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had proposed to PAS that a technical committee be set up to get various religious experts to scrutinise the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.
He had said that international religious leaders should also be invited to share their views to the panel.
Muhyiddin was also quoted as saying that if PAS is really serious in implementing hudud law in Kelantan, then it should consider forming such a committee.