Press Digest - Fate of hudud bill

PETALING JAYA: Will the amendment to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (also known as Act 355) to be proposed by Barisan Nasional get to see light of day?
According to a report in Sin Chew Daily today, should Umno, which has 86 MPs, and PAS, with another 14, join hands, they will have 100 "aye" votes, just 12 votes short of a simple majority needed to get the Act 355 passed in the Parliament.
Based on its tally, the daily said the votes of 19 MPs from seven political parties in Sabah and Sarawak will be crucial in determining Act 355's fate.
The parties which have publicly voiced their objections to the amendment, which will enhance the syariah courts' powers — DAP, MCA, Gerakan and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) – have a total of 59 votes.
Should PKR and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) throw their full support behind the four, the nay votes will increase to 93.
Given this scenario, the four MIC MPs, two independent MPs and sole Parti Sosialis Malaysia parliamentarian can also make or break Act 355 if the hitherto 19 fence-sitting MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are split in their decision at the vote.
Act 355 was moved by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on May 26 last year.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said earlier that the government will take over Hadi's contentious hudud-linked Private Member's Bill, and make it a government bill when it is tabled in the present Parliament meeting.