No one charged under disputed shariah provisions, says Kelantan deputy MB

 

Kelantan deputy menteri besar Fadzli Hassan said “if there are no cases, it means the law has raised awareness among the people”.

PETALING JAYA: No one has been charged under the 16 now-nullified provisions of the Kelantan shariah criminal code since they were enforced from November 2021, says Kelantan deputy menteri besar Fadzli Hassan.

However, the absence of charges does not imply that no violations or crimes have occurred, said Fadzli, who oversees the law portfolio in the state executive council.

“Although there were no cases, the law must exist to deter potential offences. And if there are no cases, it means the law has raised awareness among the people,” he told FMT.

When asked for the reason behind the absence of charges, Fadzli said it may be due to how recently the enactment was enforced. “There may be offences that are still under investigation by the state’s Islamic religious department and have not reached the trial stage.”

Kelantan-based shariah lawyer Shaharudin Mohamed said the absence of charges under the nullified provisions might be due to offenders being prosecuted under civil law.

He said the Federal Court’s decision to nullify provisions of Kelantan’s shariah criminal code exposed limitations in the state assembly’s legislative power under the Federal Constitution.

“The annulment of the offences does not mean the offence committed can no longer be prosecuted. The offences are still provided for by the Penal Code, and tried by the civil court, where the punishments are more severe than those meted out by the shariah court.”

Last week, the Federal Court struck down 16 criminal provisions in Kelantan’s shariah enactment on grounds that they violated the Federal Constitution. The court held that the Kelantan state assembly did not have jurisdiction to legislate on criminal offences, which come under federal law.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said it was a “dark day in history for Muslims”, saying the decision would also threaten shariah law in other states.

However, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor urged everyone to respect the Federal Court’s decision. He said the next step was to study ways to expand the competency of state assemblies to enact shariah criminal laws within the constitution’s framework. - FMT