Syariah experts question Act 355 bill, propose unified court system

Two experts on syariah have questioned the planned implementation and purpose of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's bill to amend the syariah penal laws.

Former Terengganu Syariah Court chief judge Ismail Yahya and scholar Rozaimi Ramle instead proposed an alternative method to strengthening syariah courts and Islamic law, by either having a unified court system for both syariah and civil law, or Islamising the civil court.

Hadi wants to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) to increase the punishment cap for syariah offences, to RM100,000 fine, 30 years in jail, and 100 strokes of the cane.

Speaking at a PKR-linked forum on the proposed Act 355 amendments, Rozaimi questioned among others, the lack of details on the need to increase punishments.

"I don't see the justification to implement 30 years' jail and the RM100,000 fine... This must be justified by the one who proposed it," Rozaimi said at the forum organised by Invoke in Kuala Lumpur last night...