YOURSAY | When in govt, Act 355 amendments are no longer urgent

YOURSAY | 'Supporters will have to wait for PAS to be back in opposition to push for it.'

Veep: PAS' fiery position on Act 355 due to being in opposition

Quigonbond: PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (above) is probably thinking the need to be more moderate to achieve the optics of being in the federal government.

Political rhetoric gives way to reality. It makes you think of the similarities when Dr Mahathir Mohamad treated the Pakatan Harapan manifesto like toilet paper.

You know what? As electorate, you either settle for the reality that not everything a political party fights for will be realised because a lot of it is just posturing, or you can settle for nothing less.

If you think it's posturing, then what's the real value to stick to PAS when they keep talking about religious supremacy, but at the end of the day, it's just pretence?

If they are pretending and they are really moderate at heart, your question to them should be: why don't you join the real moderates, like during the days of Pakatan Rakyat?

Of course, if PAS decides to stick with Perikatan Nasional/Muafakat Nasional, then we know that is their true self, and this apparent cooling down on Act 355 is just a smokescreen to win over some non-Muslim votes.

WhiteFish8432: Yes, very funny for PAS to put forward as justification that it is part of the government now and therefore, it is not possible to fight for the amendment of Act 355 [Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965] to allow the partial implementation of hudud.

In the first place, if PAS strongly believes in the principle behind the Act, then it should be easier now (to fight for it), since it is part of the federal government.

It is very shameful that Perikatan Nasional (PN) government representatives, especially from PAS, are justifying their reasonings so illogically and without sense.

Indeed, I am very sad to know our that government is filled up with this type of representatives, making us wonder how Malaysia can progress further.

Anonymous_Reader: It looks like PAS has been pushing something for years without doing the basic homework.

The change could be that they know many may not welcome the amendments of Act 355. They may lose the government in GE15 if they continue to push for it.

Their political partners won't want crippling punishments for all kinds of “sins” involving abuse of power and corruption.

Proarte: Syariah is man-made and varies according to the Muslim government or ruling religious elites of the day. Proof of this is that syariah laws vary from state to state in Malaysia.

It is nice to know that Act 355 is no longer a priority for PAS. But who knows, when they become the opposition, it may then become a 'priority' again.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and not state syariah laws. Malaysians must accept this fact for their own good, otherwise, they will continue to bark up the wrong tree and will be hitting their heads against a brick wall.

Finally, and now in government, PAS is realising that amending Act 355 to increase the severity of the punishments meted out is not possible because it conflicts with the provisions in the Federal Constitution.

Any law that conflicts with the Constitution is null and void.

Doc: So, PAS diehard supporters have to wait until their party is back in opposition for them to push for Act 355. What a whole load of nonsense Tuan Ibrahim is peddling.

Then again, talking nonsense is a norm among the PAS leadership.

And Justice For All: PAS is already finished. They will never be able to push for Act 355 again if they don’t do it now.

Voters will ask why they never pushed for the Act when they were in the government. Why only push it when you’re in opposition?

They will soon have to push for the Act and PN will be torn to bits on whether to accept or reject it.

Semi Value: Do you know the reason why (PAS put Act 355 on the back burner)?

The moment they present Act 355 in Parliament, GPS will withdraw from PN. That will be the end of PN. Simple as that. No need to give all kinds of excuses.

Bobby0: Changing state laws and changing federal laws are two separate issues.

It is easier to implement on a state level but to implement such changes at the federal level, there are a lot of important issues that need to be looked into.

Besides the Constitution, there are also the rights of Sabah and Sarawak. They would not agree to such laws, for politically they might face a backlash from their own people.

What about foreign investors? Will they decide to bypass our nation for countries with less religious baggage? Will our own local investors decide to pack up their bags and move to other nations where they will not face such issues?

Who will end up paying taxes if there are hardly any investors? How will the government obtain the money to pay the salaries, interest on debts, new projects or even maintaining existing ones?

The world out there is huge. We are just a small fish in a big ocean. We need the support of all the nations, near or far, to survive and build our economy.

If we are going to remain in our religious attitude and outlook, the world will pass us by. Even Saudi Arabia today is willing to make certain changes. They know that they cannot depend just on oil income alone.

Welcome to the real world. The world that does not wait for any nation. You have to grab every opportunity that comes, or be left behind.

BrownFalcon4984: PAS will lose a lot of support as many of its voters believe that PAS will bring in Islamic law and practice as they are part of the government.

What we see now are PAS ministers being more interested in perks and benefits than in pushing the Islamic agenda.

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