“The fact is the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Amendment) Bill will never be enforced on non-Muslims because the act itself states that it only involves Muslims.”

- Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan

COMMENT | RUU355 is coming down the pipeline. Over the decades ever since these amendments were proposed, the religious far right, the deep Islamic state and culture war warriors have been pushing for these amendments as an amelioration of secular democratic first principles.

Indeed in 2018 PAS’ big cheese, Abdul Hadi Awang said in the party’s muktamar that this project was long in gestation and that it was a virtue of PAS to play the...