PAS assured that nothing untoward would occur at the Act 355 rally, which it likened to the annual procession to celebrate Prophet Muhammad's birthday (Maulidur Rasul).

As such, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall should approve PAS' application to hold the rally at Dataran Merdeka on Feb 18, PAS vice-president Iskandar Samad said.

"Act 355 should not be politicised because those who attend it do so because of their obligation towards Islam.

"The rally should not cause anxiety among non-Muslims because the amendments to the Act does not affect non-Muslims," he said in a statement.

This came after MCA said it disgreed with the rally because it could jeopardise national harmony.

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor said the rally could be held at the Titiwangsa Stadium and not Dataran Merdeka.

Iskandar, who is also Selangor PAS chief, said like the Maulidur Rasul procession, the Feb 18 rally was for Muslims to show love for the religion and their commitment to raise the stature of the syariah court.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang tabled a Private Member's Bill seeking the maximum penalty for syariah courts to be raised to 30 years' in prison, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the rotan.

This is an amendment to the earlier Bill which proposed to completely do away with a limit to the maximum penalty which could meted out by the syariah court, raising fears of implementation of hudud penalties in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Act 355 (Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdicion) Act) currently limits the penalty meted out by the syariah courts to three years' jail, RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the rotan.

Meanwhile, PAS information chief Nasruddin Hassan said the rally would not undermine harmony and would only feature prayers and religious lectures.

"MCA need not worry. In fact no one should oppose the gathering because it is peaceful, abides by the law and is meant to educate the rakyat.

"There will no street processions, no anti-peace movements and nothing to undermine national stability," he said.

He also invited non-Muslims to participate in the gathering.