Abdul Hadi Awang

Unity Government and Reform · Life · 8 min read

Who Is Hadi Awang? PAS, Islamic Politics, and the Malay Political Centre

How a religious teacher, MP, and PAS president brought the mosque pulpit into the national power table

Hadi Awang is not an ordinary party president. He carries several identities at once: religious teacher, MP, former Terengganu Menteri Besar, and long-serving PAS president. To understand Hadi is to understand why Islamic politics in Malaysia is not just an election slogan, but a political language grown over years through pulpits, books, grassroots work, and state power.

Unity Government and Reform · Debate · 12 min read

Should Parliament Amend Act 355 to Increase Syariah Court Criminal Jurisdiction Limits?

Affirmative argues "Parliament should amend it"; Negative argues "the constitutional framework and equality principle do not allow it"—six debaters, open discussion, three judges, every claim sourced

In 1965, Parliament passed Act 355, granting state Syariah courts criminal jurisdiction: maximum 3 years imprisonment, RM5,000 fine, or 6 strokes of caning. PAS President Hadi Awang proposed in 2016 (RUU355) to significantly raise these limits. In February 2024, the Federal Court ruled 8–1 that 16 provisions of Kelantan's Syariah Criminal Code were unconstitutional—states had no power to unilaterally exceed the limits set by the 1965 Act. But does Parliament itself have the power to change that limit? That is the true question at stake.