KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government has no power to ask state governments to amend their Syariah laws, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan said that based on Clause 2, Article 72 and Second List in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, matters pertaining to Islamic law are under the jurisdiction of the respective states.
"Therefore, the Yang diPertuan Agong, sultans and state rulers are the main authorities who need to give their consent and advice to the state governments," he said, in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (Perikatan Nasional-Kota Baru) in Parliament today.
Takiyuddin had asked if the government was managing the issue of nullified Syariah provisions in Kelantan which still exist in the Syariah enactments of other states.
This was following the Federal Court's decision, which ruled that 16 out of 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah criminal enactment were unconstitutional .
The ruling was made following a petition filed in 2021 by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman.
"Does the government realise that there were 13 more Syariah criminal enactments in other states in the country that have the same provisions that were nullified by the Federal Court?" questioned Takiyuddin, who is also Pas secretary-general.
To this, Zulkifli said the provisions of Syariah enactments or ordinances in other states were still valid.
"It can still be enforced as long as it is not being challenged or not declared void and unconstitutional."
Meanwhile, Zulkifli assured that the Syariah courts were not being compromised, despite the apex court's ruling earlier this month.
"In this case, (the court ruling) provides an interpretation to the Federal Constitution on the competency of the state legislative assembly or Parliament to draft laws.
"Therefore, there is no issue that Syariah courts are being compromised," he added.
