Abdul Hadi tabled motion for Private Member's Bill to amend Act 355

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has brought forth a motion on his revised Private Member's Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) 1965, or better known as Act 355, at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

However, the Marang Member of Parliament (MP) requested that the detailed explanation on the motion be made at the next Dewan Rakyat meeting as the proposed amendments should be fully understood as many quarters were still confused and often engaged in polemics about the matter.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia who presided the sitting allowed the tabling of the motion to be continued at the next meeting.

However, several MPs interjected him, urging the government to set up a special committee to discuss the motion, besides wanting to know when the bill would be tabled for first reading in Dewan Rakyat.

The Speaker explained that was tabled by Abdul Hadi today was just a motion to seek the approval of the house to table the pertinent Private Member's Bill and that the bill was far from reaching the first-reading stage.

"When the house approved this motion and put its stamp on it, then only the bill would be valid for first reading.

"But it will not end there as the stamped bill must be distributed in the house and be left to the relevant minister to make a statement, after which will be followed by another debate and the second reading and so on, which is really a long process," he said.

Pandikar Amin said the wrong perception about the motion surfaced due to misreporting and lack of understanding about the law-making process.

Abdul Hadi had tabled the motion earlier in May, but it was tabled again this morning after it was revised following the meeting and briefing with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom last Tuesday.

In the motion, Abdul Hadi said among the proposed amendments to be made to Act 355 were to increase the maximum penalties to 30 years imprisonment, fine of RM100,000 and 100 strokes of the rotan. --Bernama