Not up to govt's whether to debate Act 355 in House - Fuziah

The government will hold to the principle on the separation of powers and will not intervene in deciding whether the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) 2016 bill or RUU 355 should be debated in Parliament again, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh.

She said based on the principle, the executive body could not interfere in the running of the Parliament, including in the tabling of any motion by members of the house.

She said it was the jurisdiction of the Dewan Rakyat speaker to decide on the priority of motions, whether they should be tabled or discussed.

“The regulation also requires a notice of 14 days before Parliament sitting for any motion to be tabled, and for it to be tabled, it has to be included in the list of the meeting order, and so far, it is no where to be seen,” she added.

She said this in response to the opposition’s hope for it to be allowed to debate the bill.

The government would take part in debating the bill, if a motion on it was tabled in Parliament, she told reporters after opening a symposium on Muslim Motivator and Trainer in Putrajaya.

Yesterday, Kelantan Islamic Development, Dakwah, information and regional ties committee chairman Mohd Nasuruddin Daud was reported as saying that the state government would discuss the matter with the federal government even though there were rumours that the RUU355 would not be debated in Parliament during this session.

In another development, Fauziah said she hoped the Malaysian Islamic Development Department could assist in enhancing the capability of the Malaysia Muslim Motivation Training (Tamrin) .

Motivation trainers should be willing to shift from the old way which focuses on talks, group discussion to a more interactive method, including not relying on LCD screen, she added.

- Bernama