THE PAS ulama council has recommended that politicians who are on trial for misconduct and corruption be disqualified from participation in the general election.

Council leader Ahmad Yahya said the government should tighten the rules for politicians involved in court cases.

“This includes those who are currently on trial for misconduct, embezzlement, corruption. They should not be given the chance to stand for election because we fear they will use their position to avoid being prosecuted.

“At the same time, we hope that court cases involving political leaders could be expedited so that (the innocent ones) will be able to speedily clear their names,” he said at a council meeting in Guar Chempedak, Kedah, today.

He also urged that those who have threatened the peace and harmony in the country with their speech be barred from running in elections.

Ahmad, who is a senator, said the current rules for running in an election are “loose”.

He praised Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for not interfering with the judiciary in the case of Najib Razak, who has been sent to jail after failing to get his conviction and sentence quashed by the Federal Court.

Najib is serving a 12-year prison sentence on charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

Ahmad also wants Putrajaya to enact political funding laws, which he believes will go a long way to fight the culture of money politics.

Last month, de facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he hoped to have a proposed political funding bill tabled in the Dewan Rakyat sitting in October. – September 2, 2022.