Proposed shariah court amendments didn’t go to Rulers, says Anwar

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the Conference of Rulers has yet to go through the draft legislation.

PETALING JAYA: The Conference of Rulers has yet to receive the proposed amendments to a law on the criminal jurisdiction of shariah courts, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He censured the previous government of Perikatan Nasional for not handling the proposed amendments properly.

“In Malaysia, draft amendments to Acts need to be approved by the Cabinet and presented to the Conference of Rulers,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

“The Conference of Rulers will discuss it thoroughly, return it with legislative drafts for the attorney-general, and then it will go back to the Conference of Rulers.

“That was not done, so don’t tell tales. It’s not true at all. The Conference of Rulers has yet to go through the draft legislation,” he said while at the Universiti Teknologi Mara campus in Permatang Pauh, Penang.

Anwar said the minister for religious affairs, Na’im Mokhtar, will be going through the proposed amendments in detail.

The prime minister said the government will have discussions with all muftis and Islamic scholars both domestically and internationally to ensure the strength and reliability of the proposed amendments before presenting the draft to the Conference of Rulers.

“If this law is made hastily, it will be weak, and people will ridicule Islam and Islamic law because of the mistakes and hastiness of Islamic leaders,” said Anwar.

In February, Na’im had said that engagement sessions for the proposed amendments were in its final stage and a report will be brought to the Cabinet before the draft law is presented to Parliament later this year.

The proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act are believed to widen the scope of offences to include theft, robbery, adultery, sodomy and intoxication, to be adjudicated under Islamic criminal law.

An interfaith council of non-Muslim religions has questioned the constitutionality of the proposed amendments, on the basis that the Federal Constitution provides for criminal law as a federal matter.

Tan Hoe Chieow, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, contended that the proposed amendments would result in a dual system of criminal law being established between the civil courts and the shariah courts.

He said it contradicted the Federal Constitution and was “against the constitutional framework and basic structure of the constitution”.

Earlier today, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan questioned the council’s motive for saying the proposed amendments were unconstitutional. - FMT