Hence, he said it was not a surprise that Umno suddenly had a change of heart regarding the shariah bill.

Up till a few days ago, he said, the party had been very “passionate” and committed in its support for PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (also called Act 355 or RUU 355).

In his blog today, Zainuddin said Umno was now suddenly projecting PAS as a standalone party and it was unsure whether the bill was going to be tabled in this Dewan Rakyat sitting at all.

His statement came following Prime Minister Najib Razak’s surprise announcement last night that the government had decided against taking over Hadi’s shariah bill in accordance with the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) principle of consensus among its coalition partners.

Many BN parties had not been in favour of the amendments meant to increase the punitive powers of shariah courts in the country.

Zainuddin said Umno believed in a multiracial and multi-religious society, which was not in line with PAS’ approach and policies that were considered rhetorical, harsh, racist and extreme.

“So attempts to backstab each other continue behind the scenes.”

Meanwhile, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s supreme council member A Kadir Jasin, in his blog, said the whole debacle surrounding Act 355 was just a political circus.

The victims are the Muslims, especially PAS members and supporters who really believed Najib and Hadi wanted to table the bill, he said.

“Where are Umno’s ministers and religious preachers now?

“Or was the bill to amend Act 355 actually, from the beginning till the end, part of Najib’s and Hadi’s political game?”