Why Act 355 needs review

The Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, also known as Act 355, is one of several laws the government is considering for review. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Human rights lawyer Fahri Azzat has welcomed the government’s move to review the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, saying it is unconstitutional in its present form.

“It was not drafted correctly,” he told FMT. “It specifies penalties without specifying the offences.”

He said the absence of a list of offences could be blamed for the Terengganu Shariah Court’s recent decision to find two women guilty of attempting to have lesbian sex and to order their public caning.

He urged shariah judicial authorities to agree to the review.

The act, also known as Act 355, is among several laws the government is considering for review, according to Fuziah Salleh, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department who is in charge of religious affairs.

Fuziah told the Dewan Negara recently that the review would cover, among other things, the infrastructure of shariah courts, the question of competence of shariah judges and prosecutors, and the possibility of harmonising shariah and civil laws.

Fahri said there was already a measure of harmonisation between the two legal systems, particularly in matters of jurisdiction.

“But the application is a problem,” he said. “For example, shariah judges would issue custody orders to the father without the mother’s consent because she is a Hindu. They know they should not do that, yet they do it.

“The poor application of the law by the shariah courts is also causing religious tension.”

He said the Syariah Judiciary Department needed to get together with the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Office of the Chief Justice to discuss issues that are poorly handled by the religious courts.

Azril Mohd Amin, the chief executive of the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy, told FMT there was a need to streamline some religious enactments, such as those on divorce and custody, to achieve some uniformity across the different states.

He said the authorities could study the laws of the different states, pick the best for any particular issue and recommend its application in the other states. -FMT