COMMENT Members of Parliament, on being elected as members of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat), have to swear the following oath “...that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia and will preserve, protect and defend its constitution”.

The MPs must bear this oath in mind when deliberating on the Private Member's Bill introduced in Parliament recently by PAS MP for Marang Abdul Hadi Awang.

The bill seeks to amend Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1956 and is intended to extend the power of the syariah court to be able to implement the Kelantan Criminal Enactment (II) 1993 which provides for hudud punishments detailed in the Kelantan Enactment 2015 and include theft, rape, sodomy, etc.