KUALA LUMPUR: PAS' hudud-linked bill may not be tabled today despite being listed as number six in the Parliament’s Order Paper.
Yesterday, the motion to table the Private Members’ Bills by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had slipped to the seventh spot, after being taken over by a string of government bills.
It was listed as number four on Monday.
The bill, which aims to empower the Syariah courts for stricter punishments, was moved by Hadi in the last Parliament session in May.
After the question-and-answer session ended at about 11.30am today, the lawmakers had resumed with the debate on Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill 2016.
It will be followed by the tabling of three more bills namely Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill 2016; Court (Modes of Commencement of Civil Actions) Bill 2016 and Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) 2016.
After the bills were debated and passed, the Finance Minister is scheduled to move a motion to convert RM500 million government's loan to SME Bank into 500 million ordinary shares at the value of RM1 per share.
Yesterday, PAS lawmakers said they remained hopeful that their bill would be tabled during this Parliament session.
Its secretary-general and Kota Baru MP Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said it was a common practice to give priority to government bills while PAS central committee member and Kuala Nerus MP Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said the tabling of the bill was “a matter of time”.
PAS information chief and Temerloh MP Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi said the party would respect the Parliament’s Standing Orders.