Khalid, a former menteri besar of Selangor, said today that the bill was not about hudud (Islamic criminal penalties) and would not affect the rights of non-Muslims.

He said he supported the bill “because the concept of Shariah is based on fairness”, according to Malay Mail Online.

The bill seeks to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdication) Act to increase the scope of the syariah courts to enforce punishment for Islamic offences. Critics have said the bill would be a forerunner to the imposition of hudud penalties and would also affect the religious rights of non-Muslims.

However Khalid, who is MP for Bandar Tun Razak, said the bill was fair to Muslim and non-Muslims alike.

“I do not think this law will infringe the right of the non-Muslims. It will create fairness. If the law is not fair, we should work together to make it fair.”

The bill was tabled by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who is MP for Marang. It was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat as a private member’s bill in May and will be debated this month.

Khalid, a former PKR politician, was menteri besar of Selangor heading a Pakatan Rakyat coalition government. He was ousted in a PKR power struggle in 2012 but remained in office with support from PAS executive councillors to allow the Sultan of Selangor to choose a new head of government.

He spoke to reporters today after attending a PAS function in Putrajaya.