CONCERNED prominent Sabah and Sarawak leaders are ratcheting up their campaign against a controversial parliamentary bill to enhance punishments for religious offences through an advertorial targeted at their citizens.

The advertorials, in the form of open letters in four languages, aim to wake Sabah and Sarawak folk up to the possibility that the bill dubbed “RUU 355” will one day come to their shores, even as its proponents claim that it will only affect Muslims in the peninsula.

The advertorials are being printed in newspapers and websites in four languages that are widely spoken in Sabah and Sarawak – Kadazan, Iban, Bahasa Malaysia and English.

RUU 355 is the private member’s bill sponsored by Islamist party PAS to seek harsher penalties for Muslims who commit shariah offences, such as consuming alcohol and adultery.

The bill seeks to amend the Shariah Court Act 1965, otherwise known as Act355 or RUU355. RUU355 caps shariah penalties to three years jail, a RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the rotan.

PAS wants the limits removed and replaced with a maximum 30 years’ jail, RM100,000 fine and 100 lashes in a shariah-style rotan method.

One of the advertorial’s sponsors, Johan Ariffin Abdul Samad said RUU 355 is the latest attempt by certain peninsular-based politicians to impose their brand of Islam on Sabah and Sarawak.

This was the latest breach in the 1963 Malaysia agreement where Sabah and Sarawak were guaranteed freedom of worship in exchange for forming the federation, said the former oil industry executive.

“Not only was the Federation of Malaya established as a secular federation where Islam as the ‘religion of the federation’ plays only ceremonial roles, but more importantly, Sabah and Sarawak, which have never been part of the ‘Negeri-Negeri Melayu’, proudly embrace their diverse ethnic and religious heritage,” read a line in the ad titled For Malaysia’s sake, say ‘No’ to RUU355.

If the bill is passed, said Johan Ariffin, its repercussions will be felt even in Sabah and Sarawak as it amends a federal-level law that is applied throughout the country.

“Many rural people (in Sabah and Sarawak) still do not understand or realise that this bill can affect them, even though PAS says it’s only for Kelantan,” Johan Ariffin told The Malaysian Insight.

“The propaganda that RUU355 will not affect non-Muslims is also misleading and deceitful. When disputes arise as to whether someone is a Muslim or not, the civil courts abdicate jurisdiction to the shariah courts,” said the advertorial.

It also argued that the amendments if passed, would give shariah courts the ability to impose sentences similar to conventional Sessions Courts.

“When a severe crime like robbery can only be punished by the Sessions Court with a maximum term of 14 years and fine or whipping, what religious offences committed by Muslims should be slapped with 30 years of imprisonment, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the whip?” read another paragraph.

“Where is the principle of proportionality so central to criminal justice?”

Even in PAS-ruled Kelantan, Johan Ariffin said, laws passed for Muslims, such as gender segregation at supermarkets and hair salons, have affected non-Muslims.

Johan Ariffin said contrary to its proponent’s assurances, the bill is a way of introducing hudud (Islamic Penal Code) through the back door.

RUU355 was tabled on April 6. However, its debate has been postponed till the next Dewan Rakyat in late July.

Though Johan Ariffin is a member of the G25 group of prominent Malays ex-civil servants, he said the funders for this campaign were mostly East Malaysians. G25 is also opposed to RUU355.

Johan Ariffin is also a former deputy director of Yayasan Sabah, a state government-linked company. He has written extensively on RUU355 in local Sabah newspaper, Daily Express.

“RUU355 does not represent the Malaysia I love. I feel compelled to come out and say something about it.

“There has never been any tension in East Malaysia over religion, we would like it to remain that way and not be coerced in our worship.” – May 7, 2017.