THE famous Shariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Bill or RUU 355 is expected to be tabled in Parliament this year, according to Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.
He claimed that the engagement session to amend the Shariah Court Bill is now in its final stages and the report will be brought to the Cabinet before it is expected to be tabled in Parliament this year.“So far the engagement has been done and all states including the State Islamic Religious Council, the State Shariah Court and the State Department of Islamic Religion have been invited to attend the engagement session.“I understand from JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) director-general Datuk Hakimah Mohd Yusoff that the deal is in the final stage, so a report has not yet been prepared and they will prepare a report on the deal to me,” a local portal quoted him as saying.
The media previously reported that the draft bill was already at the level of the Attorney General’s Department.
However, it did not have time to present it following the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, 2022.Meanwhile, on Friday (Feb 16) former religious affairs deputy minister Datuk Dr Ahmad Marzuk Shaary who is also the Pengkalan Chepa MP penned on Facebook that the issue of the jurisdiction of the Shariah Court has been comprehensively studied and the draft of RUU 355 has also been completed.
“I suggest that the government can continue to use the draft RUU 355 that has been completed before so that the drafting process does not need to start from the beginning again since it will involve the same stakeholders,” he said. He also added that the previous draft of RUU 355 has already been reviewed and approved by the Drafting Division, Attorney General’s Department on Oct 7, 2022, and should be ready to be brought to Parliament at any time. He even questioned Religious Affairs Minister on the RUU 355.
Main photo credit: Kosmo Digital
