Calm down, Malaysians urged amid hudud storm

© Provided by Malay Mail Online Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said had tabled a motion to expedite the tabling of the PAS president’s private member’s Bill in Parliament to amend the Shariah Courts…KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Malaysians should not allow themselves to be provoked by the outrage expressed over PAS’s so-called hudud Bill, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) director-general Datin Dr Azizan Baharuddin said today.

She urged for calm, saying all parties should keep a cool head over the issue, which she acknowledged as volatile.

“Don’t escalate the explosive nature of this issue. Malaysians have to calm down. This is not the first time this situation has come about and maybe it will not be the last,” she told a press conference.

Instead of a knee-jerk reaction, she said a discussion on the matter should be held to help Malaysians understand the issue better.

“Islam looks at being fair. Not just for humans but for animals and plants as well. We should all sit and discuss.

“Those concerned should raise the issues and the parties involved should explain. It’s not one religion taking over the rest,” she stressed.

Azizan added that IKIM will study the Bill thoroughly before issuing any comment on it.

“We don’t want to condemn any party. Silence sometimes is golden. We are studying it. We want to make sure what we speak is based on facts,” she explained.

Last Thursday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said tabled a motion to expedite the tabling of PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s Bill in Parliament to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

However, Hadi asked to defer the Bill to the next parliamentary meeting in October.

The Bill seeks to empower shariah courts to enforce punishments ― except for the death penalty ― provided in Shariah laws for Islamic offences listed under state jurisdiction in the Federal Constitution, without elaborating on the nature of the punishments.

Shariah court punishments are currently limited to jail terms not exceeding three years, or whipping of not more than six strokes, or fines of not more than RM5,000.

Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak later sought to allay concerns about Hadi’s Bill, saying that it was not meant to implement hudud law but merely to enable the Shariah courts to impose “a few more” strokes of caning from the current maximum of six.

Despite this, leaders from both the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and opposition pact Pakata Harapan have issued statements expressing their opposition to the Bill.

The presidents of BN components MCA, MIC and Gerakan – Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam and Datuk Mah Siew Keong – even volunteered their resignations from the government should the Bill get Parliament’s approval.