Its secretary, Mustapha Yaakub urged the BN component parties to first understand the contents and purpose of the Bill before making any comment on the matter.

“They have no right to comment on the Bill because it involves the Muslims. If approved, the Bill would only be applied to Muslims and not the non-Muslims,” he said in a statement today.

Mustapha was commenting on the motion to amend the existing Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 355 proposed by PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang and the reactions from several BN component parties on the Bill.

Expressing his regret at the MCA for deliberately and consciously linking Umno to the tabling of the Bill, Mustapha clarified that it was the responsibility of the Muslim members of the Dewan Rakyat to support the Bill to further streamline the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court on par with the Civil Court.

“MCA should not politicise the tabling of the Bill to gain the support of the Chinese who are non-Muslims.

“As a coalition partner of the BN, MCA should clear the confusion of the Chinese who are non-Muslims regarding the Bill instead of becoming instigators,” he said.

– BERNAMA