No reason for Umno to show fear in supporting the Syariah Bill

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no reason for Umno to fear supporting the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act or Act 355, an Umno delegate stressed.
Negri Sembilan delegate Syamsul Amri Ismail said Umno should give their support to the controversial bill if it was tabled in Parliament next year.
He also said there was no need for any "unrelated" parties to be included in the discussion to strengthen the syariah jurisdictions in the country.
"We have to support the Act 355 bill. Why do we need to talk about this matter to those who are unrelated?" he said.
"We need to talk about this among ourselves. It (the act) is our law, there is no need for us to fear as Islam is the official religion in Malaysia," he said in a debate on religion and education at the Umno Annual General Meeting.
The bill was proposed by PAS' president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang in the March parliament sitting, seeking to empower the punishments that could be meted out by the syariah courts.
Despite opposition from various quarters, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had stated that the government would be taking over the tabling if Abdul Hadi's private member's bill was approved by the Dewan Rakyat.
Meanwhile, Terengganu delegate Mohd Iskandar Jaafar also shared the same sentiment as Syamsul.
He urged Najib, as Umno president, to influence the cabinet as well all muslim MPs to support the bill.
"This bill is important in strengthening the Muslim community in this country, thus I urge the president to do what it takes to ensure the act is approved," he said.