PETALING JAYA: PAS Deputy President Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man welcomed and supported the commitment given by the Unity Government to table the RUU 355 Bill in Parliament by this year.
Tuan Ibrahim said that the tabling of the amendment to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) – better known as RUU 355 – by PAS was halted due to Parliament’s dissolution in a statement issued on Monday (Feb 19).
He expressed his gratitude to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar for pushing the Bill, despite it being initiated by the opposition in 2016.
Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, the PAS president, had tabled a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act in the Dewan Rakyat on May 26, 2016.
“PAS is committed to and supports the efforts to uphold the dignity of Syariah Law in this country with all parties. At the same time, we will continue to speak up against those who try to weaken the syariah laws and courts.
“When we were in the federal government between 2020 and 2022, we had presented the agenda of empowering RUU 355 and the then-Perikatan Nasional government had given its approval policy-wise,” said Tuan Ibrahim.
He added that RUU 355 was studied and approved by the Attorney General’s Chambers on Oct 7, 2022.
“RUU 355 was then ready to be tabled in Parliament, but this was halted when the 14th Parliament was dissolved. We thank God that the RUU 355 now has been guaranteed to be tabled by the Religious Minister by this year,” said Tuan Ibrahim.
On Sunday (Feb 8), Mohd Na’im was reported by Bernama to say that the Bill is in the final stages before it is presented to the Cabinet and then to the Parliament by the end of this year.
