ENGAGEMENTS were carried out with both Muslim and non-Muslim communities to increase understanding of the impending reforms of Syariah law, says Dr Zulkifli Hasan.
The deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs) said extensive engagements have been held with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the explanations provided were comprehensive and inclusive.“We pay attention not only to Muslims but also to the understanding of non-Muslims (on this issue).
This is why we had engagement sessions with non-Muslim bodies.
“This was reported and recorded by the special committee examining the competencies of the State Legislative Assemblies in enacting Syariah laws,” he said.Zulkifli was responding to Suhaizan Kayat (PH-Pulai), who asked whether advocacy efforts were made to explain the issue to non-Muslims.
Zulkifli informed the Dewan Rakyat that engagements were carried out with non-governmental organisations such as the Christian Federation of Malaysia, National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia, the Malaysian Taoist Association and Sri Mahamariamman Temple.
The Malaysia Hindu Sangam and Sarawak’s Premier Department’s unit for religious affairs were also invited for discussions, he added.
“We acknowledge the need for detailed briefings so that information will reach every layer of society,” he added.
Zulkifli said the committee had organised extensive engagement sessions to explain the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Amendment) Bill (RUU 355), which included issues involving overlapping and conflicting jurisdictions.
“These briefings have included a broad spectrum of stakeholders such as state Islamic Religious Councils, the Bar Council Malaysia, the Syariah Lawyers Association and the Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia, along with various NGOs.
“Our intention is not politically motivated but is aimed at enhancing the syariah judicial and legislative institutions in Malaysia,” Dr Zulkifli said.
Earlier, he told the Dewan Rakyat that the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Amendment) Bill and the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) Act (Amendment) Bill or Act 585 will be tabled in Parliament after receiving approval from the Cabinet.
RUU 355 seeks to expand the jurisdiction of Syariah courts beyond the current limits of RM5,000 fines, three years’ imprisonment, or six strokes of the cane, aligning it more closely with Syariah law, excluding the death penalty.
The Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill seeks, among others, to substitute Section 34 on Wakalah to ease the process of appointment of a syarie lawyer by allowing it to be pronounced by the person who appoints him without having to do it before the judge or court registrar.
The Bill also seeks to amend Section 100 to insert, after the words “in open Court”, the words “or through a remote communication technology”.
