PAS wants state reps in national Islamic council

PAS wants the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) to have state representatives on the committee, which is chaired by Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

The Islamist party is also planning to table a private member’s bill in Parliament, which would be focused on empowering syariah courts.

This comes after the Federal Court invalidated 16 out of 18 Kelantan’s syariah criminal enactments on Feb 9.

In its verdict, the Federal Court, in a majority 8-1 ruling, said that Kelantan's legislature exceeded its state-making power contained in the State List (List II) of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

The decision drew backlash from Perikatan Nasional, which PAS is a part of, and prompted calls for the Constitution to be amended.

Empowering syariah laws, courts

Without elaborating on the bill’s details, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said it will also be read by a Perikatan Nasional MP to amend the Constitution.

He added that the amendment will be on empowering syariah laws and syariah courts.

“We decided to prepare a memorandum, proposal, and recommendations for MKI’s consideration,” he said.

“(This) includes a proposal that the membership or the MKI’s membership composition to discuss syariah law will include representatives from the state government as parties who are affected by any actions regarding syariah law.

Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, PAS also announced that they had held a roundtable discussion on the issue which was also attended by Kelantan state assembly speaker Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah and PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad. 

As a result of the round table discussion, Takiyuddin said his party also decided to set up a committee for legal studies and documentation (chaired by Yusfarizal Yusof), strategic communication (Ahmad Fadhli Shaari), mobilisation (Amar), and cross-party action (Idris). 

He added that the party will also organise a convention to strengthen syariah law on Feb 24 and it will be hosted by the Kelantan government. 

He said the convention will involve representatives of state religious departments, civil and syariah law practitioners, academicians, and government officials. - FMT