KUALA LUMPUR – The Federal Court’s ruling in the case of lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid has sparked concerns regarding the perceived weakening of the shariah court’s authority, said PAS.
PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said the court’s decision to declare 16 offences in the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code Enactment (I) 2019 null and void also indicates the shariah court’s weakening ability.
He said that the assertion made by several parties, suggesting that shariah offences can be pursued in the civil court with more severe penalties, is not grounded in actual reality.
“Contrary to such claims, a case exemplifying this is that of Iki Putra in Selangor. He faced charges in the shariah court for the offence of sodomy. In 2021, he petitioned to the civil court to annul his prosecution, arguing that this particular offence could be addressed in the civil court.
“The court granted his application, preventing further prosecution in the shariah court. If he cannot be prosecuted in the shariah court, the logical course of action would be to pursue the case in the civil court.
“Three years have passed and Iki Putra has yet to face any charges in the civil court – this is the current reality,” he said during the opening of World Al-Quds Week Malaysia 2024, broadcasted on Facebook last night.
Fadhli also said that, in light of the Federal Court’s decision, reducing the punishment for offenders in the shariah court should not be a subject of concern or discussion.
Nevertheless, he added that if the minimal sentence provisioned by the shariah court were to become a matter of contention, it ought to be elevated to a higher level.
“If the penalties imposed by the shariah court are deemed insufficient, instead of challenging them to the extent of rendering the law invalid, it would be more prudent to explore ways to improve these penalties.
“For a constructive discussion, consider granting the shariah court the authority to impose penalties exceeding three years of imprisonment, a fine of RM5,000, and six lashes of the cane,” he said.
On Friday, the Federal Court delivered the majority ruling in favour of Nik Elin and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman, when it struck out 16 out of 18 provisions challenged by the duo.
The duo, in 2022, initiated a constitutional challenge against 20 provisions under the Kelantan enactment.
However, they dropped two sections, namely Section 5 (false claims) and Section 37 (gambling), at the onset of the suit hearing.
Apart from these two, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat also said that Section 13 (selling or offering children to individuals who are not of the Muslim faith or to morally objectionable Muslim individuals) and Section 30 (language that has the potential to incite unrest or disturb public order) out of the remaining 18 remaining provisions were legal. – February 11, 2024