PUTRAJAYA: Establishing a syariah enforcement department in all states will help strengthen Islamic law nationwide, says Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar (pic).
Currently, the Islamic Religious Department in the states only had an enforcement section and not a department, he added.
"For example, in the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi), there used to be a Syariah prosecution division and now the division has become the Syariah Prosecution Department, but it is still under Jawi.
"So to ensure that this enforcement division can act independently to conduct investigations and make arrests, there is a need to make it a department," he said.
However, he said, the proposal would only be seriously considered after the states establish a separate Syariah prosecution department.
"Currently, in most states, the enforcement aspect remains under the Islamic Religious Department. We want to ensure that all states establish a Syariah Prosecution Department first, then we will discuss (establishing an enforcement department)," he said. - Bernama
