Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin has called on all MPs, particularly those who are Muslim, to stand behind the Malay rulers in protecting the syariah legal system.
He also called on the government to look into a suitable constitutional amendment that would defend the legal system’s sovereignty.
He was referring to lawyer Nik Elin Abdul Rashid’s bid to challenge the constitutionality of provisions in Kelantan’s Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019.
The verdict for the challenge is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.
“This challenge to the syariah law is regrettable, because it would bring a negative impact to the syariah legal system, not just in the state but the entire country,” Muhyiddin said in a statement today.
“Let us all hope that the Federal Court will side with the Kelantan state government and Muslims as a whole,” the former prime minister added.
Kelantan-born Nik Elin’s bid to strike down 18 provisions of Kelantan’s syariah criminal law will be ruled on at the Federal Court at 9am tomorrow.
On Nov 20 last year, the apex court chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat reserved judgment after hearing submissions from parties.
She also cautioned against incitement and said phrases like “Syariah courts would be buried in Malaysia” were not true.
Initially, Kelantan-born lawyer Nik Elin and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman filed a petition at the Federal Court to challenge 20 state syariah criminal provisions but dropped two of the provisions from the challenge.
The dropped provisions were on false claims and gambling.
The case attracted consternation from certain quarters, with PN leaders declaring public rallies to protest the case.
Meanwhile, PAS Youth in a statement said Nik Elin’s actions were a huge threat to Islamic law in Malaysia.
It reasoned that syariah laws deal with offences that go against the Islamic religion and are in line with the Federal Constitution.
“Muslims have the right and duty to be punished in the syariah court.
“For that reason, it has been stipulated by ‘our founding fathers’ in the Constitution of our country that state legislatures can enact syariah criminal laws in their respective states,” it said. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.