Stop denying Umno hand on shariah bill, DAP tells MCA

DAP Youth labels Umno the 'biggest political player' behind the move to widen the powers of the shariah courts.

PETALING JAYA: Just hours before two rallies related to the widening of the shariah courts’ powers are to be held, DAP Youth slammed an MCA leader for “selectively forgetting” that Umno played a part in pushing forward a controversial bill to enhance shariah punishments.

The DAP wing chief, Wong Kah Woh said this after MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan claimed that Umno’s Jamil Khir Baharom’s planned attendance at the rally organised by PAS this evening in support of the Act 355 was not sanctioned by the cabinet or by BN.

Ong, whose party is against the amendments, had also said that any cabinet ministers who attended the rally did so on their own accord and did not represent the federal government or the ruling coalition.

But Wong pointed out that Jamil had in 2014 said the federal government was prepared to work with the PAS-led Kelantan government to implement hudud in the east coast state.

He added that what the minister in the prime minister department’s declared then led to a joint-technical committee between the two governments on the implementation of the shariah-based law.

Wong, who is also the Canning assemblyman, said that BN had brought forward the tabling of the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, also known as Act 355 in May, which was tabled by PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang.

Then in December, Wong noted, Prime Minister Najib Razak had also announced that Putrajaya will eventually take over the Bill.

This, Wong said reflected Umno’s stance over the matter.

“Does Ong Ka Chuan actually know what is happening or he is trying to selectively ignore the fact that Umno is the biggest political player behind Hadi’s Private Member Bill?” he asked in a statement.

PAS is seeking to increase the current penalties for certain shariah offences including increasing the jail term from three to 30 years, a fine of up to RM100,000 and up to 100 strokes of the cane.

Presently, the shariah criminal punishment is capped at a three years’ prison term, RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the cane. -FMT