PUTRAJAYA is in the midst of drafting four new shariah laws, including one to restrict the propagation of non-Islamic religions, Ahmad Marzuk Shaary said.

The deputy minister of religious affairs in the Prime Minister’s Department said the three other drafts were of the Wakaf, Mufti and Syariah Court Bills.

He said the bills were part of the government’s plan to strengthen shariah law in Malaysia.

These, he said, will be especially relevant for the federal territories.

“They will be implemented under the Strengthening Shariah Laws Plan,” the PAS lawmaker told reporters in Rantau Panjang on Sunday, as reported on the Perikatan Nasional Backbenchers Club website.

Along with the four new laws, 11 more key shariah acts, including new bills and amendments of existing laws as well as subsidiary legislation, will be formulated or changed under the plan.

Marzuk also said several other legislations such as the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) would be amended under a five-year plan (2020-2025).

The amendment of Act 355 is geared towards the implementation of hudud in the shariah legal system.

It is a controversial move that was mooted in 2016 by then opposition party PAS .

On September 2, HarakahDaily reported newly minted Religious Affairs Minister Idris Ahmad as saying that the process to amend Act 355 would continue under the new government.

“(The work to amend the act) was previously taken up by the then minister in the ministry, Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri and his deputy Marzuk,” said Idris.

Marzuk, who was reinstated as deputy minister of Islamic affairs by the new prime minister, said the Act 355 amendments were discussed in the last parliamentary session.

Parliament will again discuss the amendments after they are approved by the cabinet and presented to the Conference of Rulers, he said..

“God willing, when all the procedures are completed we will announce the date. Only the initial draft of Bill 355 has passed the review of the Attorney-General’s Office. 

“In any case, we have to wait for the approval of the cabinet. – September 7, 2021.