COMMENT | What if Anwar passes Act 355 syariah amendments?

COMMENT | Amid the Tiger Beer and George Town festival controversies, something important happened but flew under the radar.

When officiating the Konvensyen Memartabatkan Perundangan dan Kehakiman Syariah Malaysia (Convention to Ennoble the Syariah Courts and Law in Malaysia) in mid-July, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, “Insya-Allah Ogos ini, kita bentangkan (RUU355)” (God-willing, we will table it this August).

Of course, he caveats the statement with many qualifiers: there must be sufficient consultation with all stakeholders, approval from the Conference of Rulers, and a comprehensive review.

Is this just talk? No, it has been building up.

In May 2023 and February 2024, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar twice mentioned that the Anwar administration intends to table amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, better known as RUU355, to empower the syariah judicial system.

We do not know the contents of this iteration of RUU355 but...