“‘It’s for Islam,’ they said,” he wrote in a blogpost today. “They always say that God’s law cannot be set aside, and is of course fair.”
However, he stressed that the implementation of the law depended on the people entrusted with carrying it out.
“Malaysians, especially women and those from the lower income groups, must also remember that God’s law is fair if the humans that are executing it can be fair.
“Justice and the benefits of God’s law don’t happen automatically. The law doesn’t become just because of the punishments. The demands of Islam are broader than that.”
Zaid’s comments followed the government’s surprise decision against adopting PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).
Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Najib Razak said the decision was made after taking into account strong objections from most BN coalition partners.
But Zaid said this hadn’t stopped many of the bill’s supporters, including PAS and those from the government, from pushing the bill’s agenda.
Zaid, who is DAP’s latest high profile recruit, added that Islamic law and the concept of hudud had long been the political carrot dangled by those with nothing else to offer.
But to win the public’s confidence, there must be efforts to show that the Islamic criminal system is better and more just than the civil system, he said.
This should be accompanied by research on how the Shariah Court system could be improved, before authorities looked into increasing its punitive powers, he added.
“This is how we ensure justice. Not in a rushed manner just because the election season has begun.
“Although PAS preachers and Act 355 fans say I’m ‘ignorant’ and ‘liberal’, among others, I stand by my belief that Malaysian Muslims need an Islamic legal system that is good and professional.
“Act 355 doesn’t fit in this category.”
The government’s decision not to adopt Hadi’s bill came two weeks after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported as saying that BN itself would table a bill to amend Act 355 in the current Dewan Rakyat sitting, even if it risked losing some “friends”.
Najib, who is also prime minister, said the bill would continue to be a private member’s bill and it would be left to the speaker to decide on it.
“If the speaker decides to allow it, then it will be tabled,” he said.