KUALA LUMPUR: The Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Amendment) Bill, known as RUU 355, is expected to be presented to Parliament along with a new Act soon.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), Dr Zulkifli Hasan, said both bills aim to strengthen the Syariah Courts, with the proposals set to be tabled after receiving Cabinet approval.
"The amendment to this Act (RUU 355) will be brought to Parliament along with a new Act, God willing. This includes not only the amendment to this Act but also a new bill - the Syariah Courts (Federal Territories) Bill, which is aimed at empowering the Syariah Courts.
"Both bills will be tabled in Parliament after receiving approval from the Cabinet to ensure that the aspiration to strengthen the Syariah Courts can be realised," he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
He added that several engagement sessions with stakeholders have already been conducted to gather feedback on the proposed amendments to RUU 355.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Saad Yahaya (Pokok Sena) on the efforts to table the amendments to RUU 355 to elevate the status of the Syariah Courts in the country.
Zulkifli also said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, at the Syariah Law and Judiciary Convention on July 15, had stated that the amendments must be made carefully to ensure a solid document that is agreed upon by all states, muftis, and religious scholars.
He said the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia chairman, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, on July 30, also decreed that the Malaysian Islamic Development Department should provide a briefing on the proposed amendments at the state Islamic Council meetings to gather feedback and views beforehand.
"The Special Committee Studying Issues Related to the Competence of the State Legislative Assemblies to Enact Islamic Laws will also review the proposed amendments, and the report from the study will be considered in drafting the amendments.
"The proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 will be presented to the MKI and the Conference of Rulers for approval before being submitted to the Cabinet Meeting for policy endorsement and then tabled in Parliament," he said.
The last time the RUU 355 amendments were presented for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat was on May 26, 2016.
In response to a supplementary question from Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai), he said the engagement sessions also included non-Muslims.
"We certainly pay attention not only to Muslims but also to the understanding of non-Muslims. Therefore, I would like to share that the engagement sessions also included non-Muslims, as reported and recorded by the Special Committee Studying Issues Related to the Competence of the State Legislative Assemblies to Enact Islamic Laws.
"These sessions involved non-Muslim organisations such as the Christian Federation of Malaysia, the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia, the Taoism Association of Malaysia, Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Malaysia Hindu Sangam, the Religious Affairs Unit of the Sarawak Premier's Department, and several other bodies.
"This proves that we take into account the need for inclusive communication, encompassing the entire society. We will continue these engagement sessions to ensure that everyone understands this effort is not about politics, but to uplift and elevate the Syariah legal and judicial institutions in Malaysia," he said.