He said the BN can still determine if the bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) is allowed to be brought up for debate in the Dewan Rakyat and even be passed.
“It is not the speaker but BN that decides. The Dewan Rakyat Speaker, being nominated by the BN federal government, will have to go along with the direction of BN,” the Penang chief minister said.
Lim asked if Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is the BN chairman, can give assurances that government business will be given priority.
Lim also asked the PM if he would inform the Speaker that the shariah amendment bill, popularly referred to as Hadi’s bill, not be allowed to be put up for debate and voted on in Parliament.
“Otherwise, Najib’s announcement that BN will not take over the bill as a government bill is meaningless, as it could still be debated on and approved.”
Lim also called for Umno’s partners in BN – MCA, Gerakan, PBS, MIC and SUPP – to explain why they did not oppose the announcement made by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi during a private briefing of BN MPs in Parliament yesterday that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang will be allowed to table the private member’s bill by Thursday.
“The BN consensus that Act 355 would not be adopted and tabled by the government is a farce and an exercise in mass deception of the public.
“DAP is concerned that this is another one of BN’s dirty and devious political stratagems to allow Act 355 to be passed, without BN suffering from the negative brickbats from the public.
“The bill is an unconstitutional measure to be passed by ordinary legislation, when it should be by a constitutional amendment requiring a two-third majority of MPs,” he said.
On March 29, Najib had announced after a meeting with BN leaders that the government would not take over and table the private member’s bill originally tabled by Hadi in the Dewan Rakyat in May last year.
Hadi had later amended Act 355 in November by proposing to have punishments meted out by shariah courts increased to 30 years imprisonment, fines of up to RM100,000 and up to 100 strokes of the cane.
Currently, shariah criminal punishment is capped at a prison term of three years, fines of up to RM5,000 and six strokes of the cane.
Lim said Najib had stated that hudud was not suitable for a multi-racial nation like Malaysia before the last general election in May 2013.
He said Najib however refused to assert that position after he started “romancing” with PAS.
Najib had instead indicated BN’s support for it, culminating in Zahid announcing that the federal government would adopt the bill.
On March 17, Zahid had said the Umno-led federal government would table the controversial shariah amendment proposed by Hadi soon.
Zahid had reportedly said Umno could afford to lose some “old friends” as it would gain a new one (PAS) that would be together with Umno in a larger grouping.
“Only by ensuring that Act 355 is not given any priority and not put up for debate in Parliament, can Malaysians move on forward as one nation or one people, and put the matter of Act 355 behind us,” Lim said.
He added that Hadi had insisted on going on his own to move the bill, causing DAP to break ties with him in 2015, and then PAS left the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition to be closer to Umno.
He said DAP had moved decisively in the matter when it was clear that Hadi did not want to abide by the then Pakatan Rakyat common manifesto.