BN component parties reject hudud bill

SHAH ALAM: The government's decision to prioritise the Hudud Bill in parliament was made without consultation with other major BN component parties.
MCA, Gerakan, MIC, and SUPP said in a joint statement today that the parties are saddened that Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's private member's bill was elevated above government matters.
"We are also disappointed by the fact that this matter was not discussed within the Cabinet or the BN Supreme Council," the statement read.
The parties then said they cannot support any attempts to impose unequal treatment on a certain group of Malaysians, Kelantan Muslims in this case, under the law as it is unconstitutional.
This is because Article 8 (1) of the Federal Constitution provides that all Malaysians shall be treated equally before the law.
The parties said this fairness is extended to enforcement and punishment, which is especially important in a multi-religious and multi-cultural country like Malaysia.
"What this bill is attempting to do is to dismantle all these safeguards, and the bill in its current form, if passed, is against the Federal Constitution," they said.
They also said while the bill states that the death penalty is off-limits, methods of punishment were not specified and is left open to interpretation.
They said this may include amputation, public-flogging, and long term imprisonment, and is an attempt to impose Islamic Criminal Law on a multi-religious country.
They added that this will create two separate and parallel legal systems that will no doubt create complications in the future.
The statement was signed by MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam, Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, and SUPP deputy president Datuk Seri Richard Riot.