KOTA BARU: Pas is confident that the Federal Court's recent ruling on the Kelantan syariah criminal enactment has brought back awareness among Muslim members of parliament (MPs) to support matters related to the unity of the ummah.
Pas spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin said the party is hoping that Muslim MPs would support a Private Member's Bill to amend the Federal Constitution when it is tabled in Parliament.
"The Federal Court has ruled on the 16 provisions in Kelantan Syariah Law are unconstitutional.
"We (Pas) will not discuss about the 16 provisions that were unconstitutional as we are more interested on why this happened and how to address weaknesses.
"All this can be solved if the Federal Constitution is amended and enable this, we need a two-third majority support," he said.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan had recently said that the coalition's MPs will propose a private member's bill to amend the Federal Constitution, aiming to enhance and empower syariah institutions and laws.
Takiyuddin, who is Kota Baru MP, said the move was decided during a three-hour meeting between committees following the recent Federal Court decision, which declared 16 out of 18 Kelantan state provisions which had been challenged as being unconstitutional.
The Federal Court on Feb 9 ruled that 16 provisions in Kelantan Syariah Law are unconstitutional.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a nine-member panel of judges, made the landmark ruling.
The decision came about from a 8-1 majority verdict.
On Feb 12, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the government will examine all aspects of the state's syariah law following the Federal Court ruling.
He said this was to ensure that the state's syariah law did not contradict federal law.
A day later, the Kedah government also said it would examine the impact of the Federal Court's recent ruling on the Kelantan syariah criminal enactment, on the state's existing Islamic law.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had said checks showed that there are seven syariah enactments in Kedah that are similar to the ones in Kelantan, which have been ruled as unconstitutional by the Federal Court.
