PAS will hold a mega rally to show and encourage support for the amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.
The purple-themed Himpunan 355 will take place on Saturday, Feb 18 at Dataran Merdeka, said Himpunan 355 chairman and PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
Tuan Ibrahim said that the event, which is set to go on from 3pm to 11.30pm, is expected to draw 300,000 participants comprising members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and political parties as well as supporters of PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill which proposes amendments to the 1965 Act.
The Bill is commonly known as RUU355 due to its Bahasa Malaysia abbreviation.
The purpose of the gathering is to increase awareness towards supporting the Bill, Tuan Ibrahim said in a press conference at Menara MBSA at Shah Alam on Saturday.
“Our objective is to give an explanation on the need for the amendments to the Act and why it must be supported, particularly by Members of Parliament,” he said.
He said that those who opposed the Bill did not fully understand it, and the gathering was a means to ease the tension surrounding it in a harmonious environment.
On whether other political parties, including Umno, DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), were invited, Tuan Ibrahim said that invitations have been sent out to all political parties.
He added that PAS has applied for a permit to hold the event and is awaiting official approval.
The Bill is expected to be brought up when Parliament reconvenes in March.
The Bill, tabled by Marang MP Abdul Hadi, was read out a second time last November to include several tweaks that the PAS president read out for the first time the previous meeting.
The “tweaked” amendment proposes to increase the degree of penalties in Section 2 of the current Act.
Abdul Hadi’s earlier proposal was to allow the Syariah courts to impose stiffer penalties.
Currently, the penalties based on the last amendment in 1984 allows for a jail term of not more than three years or fine of not less than RM5,000 or not more than six lashes.
Abdul Hadi’s newest proposal is to replace the penalties with “not more than 30 years prison or fine of not more than RM100,000 or 100 lashes as administered in line with Syariah laws”.
The Government has said that the Cabinet will set up a Parliamentary Select Committee that will involve Muslim and non-Muslim MPs to study the complicated matters in the proposed amendments, especially those related to the separation of powers between the civil and Syariah courts.
