Govt awaits report on proposal to revive 16 shariah provisions

 

Deputy religious affairs minister Dr Zulkifli Hasan said the ministry was awaiting a report by a special committee looking into the reintroduction of the provisions. (Bernama pic)

KOTA BHARU: The religious affairs ministry will review a proposal to reintroduce 16 provisions of a Kelantan enactment on shariah criminal offences that were annulled by the Federal Court in February.

Deputy minister Dr Zulkifli Hasan said the ministry is awaiting a report by a special committee formed in Kelantan.

“We will review and examine the proposal when it is completed because it needs to be reported to the national council for Islamic religious affairs and to the Conference of Rulers.

“This is because they want to see all aspects comprehensively so that any subsequent actions will truly adhere to the interpretation of the constitution and the existing legal framework,” he said in Pulau Melaka here today.

On March 6, the Kelantan state assembly approved a motion calling for the 16 offences to be re-legislated after they were declared null and void by the Federal Court on Feb 9.

A panel of nine judges led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in an 8-1 majority decision, annulled the enactment after allowing the petition by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman. - FMT