MCA against any bill that will grant powers to impose Hudud in Malaysia - Liow
Suganthi Suparmaniam
May 27, 2016 10:13 MYT
May 27, 2016 10:13 MYT
He said the Private Bill is motivated by PASs fixation with implementing Syariah criminal codes in Kelantan.
MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai reiterated the party’s objection to PAS’s proposed amendments to hudud laws through a Private Member's Bill.
“MCA will not support any bill that will grant powers to impose Hudud in this country,” he said in a press statement today.
“It is not a government Bill neither it is in line with Barisan Nasional’s principles and position,” he added.
He said the Private Bill is motivated by PAS’s fixation with implementing Syariah criminal codes in Kelantan.
“As we repeatedly pointed out, the implementation of Hudud law is against the spirit of the Federal Constitution, and would ruin the inter-ethnic relationship in the country,” he added.
Liow also called on the government to maintain the current legal system in the country.
Yesterday, PAS’s Private Members' Bill on hudud reappeared in the Parliament order paper.
It was the third time the proposal appeared in Parliament order paper, the first being in April and again in June last year.
Despite the Bill being moved forward for debate, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had asked for the debate to be postponed.
He said it was because time was too short for a debate and wanted to give more time to the members of Parliament to understand and debate better.
Yesterday was the last day of the 4th Session of the 13th Parliament. The next session will begin on Oct 17.
The Syariah Criminal Code II 1993, better known as the hudud, qisas and takzir laws, was not implemented for more than 20 years due to legal constraints.
Besides the private Bill, the Kelantan government had also formed a state-level technical committee over a year ago and sent six representatives to sit on the national-level technical committee to study the implementation of hudud.
The initiative of the state government to enforce the laws ran into various controversies, particularly opposition from non-Muslims and its then ally, DAP.