While the ruling coalition has submitted an amendment to the penal code, which states that acts of bribery will not be considered a criminal offence, Kendhoo constituency MP Ali Hussain has said that this is 'an attack on Islam'.

The lawmaker said this via twitter on Tuesday.

His tweet translates to, "while the various corruptions within the state and government have been made public, President [Abdulla] Yameen is attacking Islam if bribery is made a non-criminal offence'.

His comment is directed towards the amendment submitted to the Penal Code, by ruling party lawmaker Ibrahim Didi. While the amendment was submitted on July 10, it is not certain whether the bit regarding making bribery a non-criminal offence was mentioned previously.

It has since been passed by the parliament's Committee on National Security and has been sent to the floor for approval.

The amendment submitted by MP Didi seeks to change Article 510 - bribery and official misconduct offences – to contempt of courts. If approved, giving and accepting bribes will be completely eliminated as a criminal offence.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, former deputy prosecutor general Hussain Shameem said that if passed as such, state employees will be allowed to accept bribes freely.

Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)'s parliamentary group has submitted a total of 29 amendments to the Penal Code, all have been approved by the relevant committee and forwarded to the parliament floor for approval.