Kelantan PAS: Strengthening syariah courts must involve Act 355

Kelantan PAS has welcomed the federal government's plan to strengthen the syariah courts holistically but said such efforts need to entail amending the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).

“We agree that it (syariah courts) should be strengthened, but Act 355 would still need to be prioritised so that social problems can be reduced and eliminated. One of the ways is through Act 355,” said Kelantan PAS ulama chief Hassan Mohamood.

He was speaking to reporters when met in Kota Bharu today, responding to comments made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

Mujahid told the Dewan Rakyat on Aug 6 that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s motion to amend Act 355 was not suited for the Syariah law framework and not holistic. 

He said before raising the maximum penalties that can be imposed by syariah courts, the government needs to look into the competency of syariah court judges and prosecutors.

“Imagine that you increase the punishment but the competency of the judges and the prosecutors are not there yet.

“We do not have the infrastructure (in syariah court system) to accommodate the drastic increment of punishment,” Mujahid said.

Meanwhile, Hassan said it is up to the government to decide on the fate of the joint technical committee set up by the Kelantan government and the federal government during the previous administration to study Act 355.

“It up to the federal government, we will continue with our efforts. The state government will not give up and would continue to work so that Act 355 (amendments) can be tabled and passed in Parliament, God willing,” he said.

The previous BN-led federal government had allowed Hadi to table his motion to amend Act 355 three times.

PAS intends to raise the maximum penalties that can be imposed by syariah courts to 30 years imprisonment, RM100,000 fine, and 100 lashes of the rotan, compared to the current maximum of three years imprisonment, RM5,000 fine, and six lashes of the rotan. -Mkini