Kelantan govt should amend its syariah criminal code in line with apex court's decision, says G25

The civil society organisation G25 has called on the Kelantan state government to amend its syariah criminal code in response to the recent Federal Court verdict on the validity of some of the state’s syariah criminal provisions.

G25 reminded all parties that the courts are legally entrusted to interpret the Federal Constitution, and it hopes that the Kelantan state government will act to amend the State Syariah Criminal Code in order to make it conform with the Federal Constitution as per the Federal Court’s judgment.

The organization emphasized the importance of respecting and abiding by the Courts’ interpretation of the Federal Constitution, stating that this is what the Rule of Law is all about, in a statement released on Saturday (Feb 10).

The Federal Court ruled on Friday (Feb 9) that 16 provisions of the Kelantan syariah state law were unconstitutional, allowing the application by a mother and daughter duo who had challenged 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment 2019 in an 8-1 majority decision.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan expressed unhappiness with the verdict, calling it a “Black Friday” for syariah law, but G25 emphasized that the case had nothing to do with undermining the religion of Islam.

G25 also criticized Takiyuddin’s statement, viewing it as highly provocative and dangerous, given his legal background, and called for respect for the judgment of the Federal Court and for the ruling not to be made a political issue.

Kelantan-born lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman filed their challenge at the Federal Court, arguing that the 18 provisions, including punishments for incest, gambling, necrophilia, sodomy, and sexual harassment, were invalid as they were already covered by federal law.

They also argued that the power to legislate criminal matters belonged to Parliament, as state assemblies only had the right to enact laws concerning Islamic faith.