PETALING JAYA: There is no need to rush the tabling of amendments to enact harsher punishments for shariah offences, says Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Noor.
Wan Salim said the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, or RUU355, must be carefully considered to ensure fairness to all.
“The bill (to amend RUU355) should be tabled only after careful deliberations. And if it cannot be implemented fully, then it should be done in stages,” he told FMT.
He was responding to the call made by Bersatu’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal for the bill to be tabled as soon as possible to prevent the government from “sinning” for not carrying out its duties.
Wan Salim also said even though it was compulsory to enact Islamic laws, it depended on the ability and readiness to implement them.
In February, religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar said the proposed amendments were expected to be tabled in Parliament this year after engagement sessions with stakeholders were completed.
The amendments were approved by the Attorney-General’s Chambers in October 2022 and were supposed to be tabled at the end of that month’s parliamentary session.
However, the process was stalled because of the dissolution of Parliament.
In 2016, PAS president and Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang submitted amendments to RUU355 as a private member’s bill.
The amendments were to enact harsher punishments for shariah offences by raising the shariah courts’ maximum sentencing limits to 30 years’ jail, a RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the cane.
Currently, the limits are a jail term of three years, a RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the cane.
At the time, it was reported that PAS hoped to enact hudud, a stricter Islamic criminal code, but it was strongly opposed by the public.
The amendment bill was then presented as a resolution to strengthen the powers of shariah courts. - FMT
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