Na'im: Govt prepared to amend Constitution to avoid syariah, civil overlap

PARLIAMENT | The government is prepared to amend the Federal Constitution and avoid existing overlaps in jurisdictions between the civil and syariah courts.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said any such move will be based on a recommendation by the special committee to review the competency of state legislatures in legislating syariah laws.

“If the committee review and recommendations led to a need for any amendments to any provision under the Federal Constitution, in this context, it will be brought before the Conference of Rulers and then the cabinet.

“If the provisions served as a barrier towards efforts to strengthen the syariah system and to avoid any conflict between the civil and syariah courts, certainly the cabinet will deliberate and bring to Parliament motions related to the amendments,” said Na’im.

“What is important, existing conflicts between civil and syariah courts will continue to trigger disputes, and so must be resolved as soon as possible,” he said during Question Time in Parliament today.

He was responding to a supplementary question by Sany Hamzan (Harapan-Hulu Langat).

Separately, in Kelantan, Sinar Harian reported PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Abdullah as saying that the party is seeking an audience with the Malay rulers as part of efforts to strengthen the Syariah Criminal Code.

He said PAS, through Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, had an audience with Terengganu’s Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin and will seek audiences with the other state rulers.

These follow a recent ruling by the Federal Court that nullified 16 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment (I) 2019. - Mkini