KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Tambun-PH) has slammed attempts to politicise the constitutional challenge against the Kelantan shariah laws, and those using the case to drive a wedge between parties in the unity government.
While lawmakers are free to raise the case in Parliament, Anwar voiced his objection to certain quarters switching the narrative that the unity government had allowed the case to be heard in the Federal Court.
“I stress this as there are attempts to pit us against (the shariah law). Where is the evidence of this?
“The Kelantan state assembly came up with the legislation, and it was challenged by Nik Elin, who said it contradicted the federal constitution, and was brought before the Federal Court.
“This means that the state assembly, Parliament, and the prime minister cannot just decide on the case. It has to be brought to court,” he said during Prime Minister’s Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat today.
“When was it brought to the court? On May 25 last year. Who were the prime minister and law minister then?”
Anwar subsequently pointed out that the Federal Court on September 30 last year allowed for the case to be heard.
“Who was the then law minister? How does a minister not know about a case that challenges the shariah law? It’s an easy excuse (for feigning ignorance).”
He reminded the lower House that Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah consented to the establishment of a special committee to conduct an in-depth study on the competency of state assemblies to enact Islamic laws under enactments and the jurisdiction of shariah courts.
“The committee needs time to conduct the study as it involves all the state governments. The setting up of this committee is to uphold dignity and to bolster the shariah courts.”
Kelantan-born lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman challenged the PAS-led Kelantan state assembly’s authority to enact shariah criminal laws.
PAS has characterised the case as an attack on Islam and condemned Nik Elin for allegedly undermining the religion. Meanwhile, several lawyers expressed concerns, suggesting that this case might trigger similar constitutional challenges in other states with their own shariah criminal enactments.
However, constitutional expert Prof Datuk Shad Saleem Faruqi clarified that Nik Elin’s case is not intended to legalise offences against Islamic principles.
Instead, it aims to determine whether these cases should be legislated by federal or state jurisdictions.
Yesterday, the Federal Court decided to reserve its judgment on Nik Elin’s challenge with a “curia advisari vult”, which means that the court wishes to be advised, in which this phrase is used to indicate that the court has not yet made a decision.
The mother-daughter duo challenged 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019, which are also similarly included in the Penal Code.
This includes Section 13 (selling or giving away a child to non-Muslim or morally reprehensible Muslim), Section 14 (sodomy), Sections 16 and 17 (sexual intercourse with a corpse and with a non-human), as well as Section 42 (abuse of halal label and connotation).
Notably, the initial list of 20 provisions was reduced to 18 during the case hearing on August 17, with the exclusion of Section 5 (false claim) and Section 37 (gambling). – November 21, 2023