Mujahid: Hadi's motion on Act 355 not suited for syariah court framework

PARLIAMENT | The government will adopt a holistic approach to empower the syariah court, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa today.

He said this at the Dewan Rakyat during the winding-up of the royal decree debate after Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Bharu) wanted an assurance from the minister on the amendment the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or 355 Act as according to the motion accepted by the House.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's motion was not suited for the syariah law framework and not holistic, Mujahid added.

"We need to look at the competency of the syariah court judges and the 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," he said.

As such, Mujahid said the government will study the proposals to improve the jurisdiction of the syariah courts.

In October last year, Amanah passed in its convention to table three private member's bills, namely the Criminal Hatred of Race and Religious Bill, Equality Bill and National Harmony Bill.

The three bills were formulated to address hate crimes based on race and religions, racial equality and national harmony.

The previous BN administration had on three occasions allowed Hadi to table the bill to amend Act 355.

On the third occasion in April last year, the House allocated time for the motion to be seconded and said it would be debated during the next session.

Hadi seeks to raise the punishment cap for syariah offences to 30 years' jail, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the cane, from the current punishment of three years' imprisonment, RM5,000 fine and six strokes. 

Critics argued that Hadi's bill was a prelude to the implementation of hudud law.

Some states such as PAS-ruled Kelantan already have laws which prescribe hudud penalties such as amputation along with death by stoning.

However, they cannot implement it unless federal laws are first amended as what Act 355 seeks to do.

Meanwhile, Mujahid also said the government is in the final stage of drafting the dress code guideline for Muslim women to prevent them from being discriminated against in the private sector.

He said the guideline will be presented to employers by the end of the year.

Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) had first raised the issue sometime in November last year, citing complaints from its members. This triggered an outcry from various Muslim groups.

At the time, UNI-MLC also claimed that students in hospitality and tourism courses have been instructed to remove their headscarves before going for internships or risk not being hired.

Following this, the Malaysian Association of Hotels explained that some international hotels enforce a uniform policy for frontline staff. -Mkini