PUTRAJAYA, Dec 5 — The Negri Sembilan government and four others filed an application at the Federal Court here today to seek leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal landmark ruling declaring invalid the state’s Shariah Criminal (Negri Sembilan) Enactment 1992 which criminalises Muslim transgenders for cross-dressing.

Two representatives from the Negri Sembilan state legal adviser’s office filed the notice of motion at the one-stop-centre of the Federal Court Chief Registrar Office at 4.30 pm.

In the leave application, the applicants have submitted seven legal questions.

An applicant in civil cases must first obtain leave from the Federal Court before appealing against a Court of Appeal decision.  The other four applicants were the Negri Sembilan department of Islamic Religious Affairs, the director of the Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs and the Negri Sembilan Chief Syarie prosecutor.  On Nov 7, the Court of Appeal declared section 66 of the Enactment as invalid and unconstitutional.

A three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus held that the provision discriminated Muslim men suffering from a medical condition called gender identity disorder (GID).  Justice Hishamudin said section 66 which penalises Muslim men who dressed or posed as women in public places, did not provide an exception for GID sufferers but had simply ignored them (GID sufferers)  and had unfairly subjected them to the enforcement of the law.

The Court of Appeal panel had unanimously allowed an appeal brought by three Muslim bridal make-up artists, Muhamad Juzaili Mohamad Khamis, 26, Syukor Jani, 28, and Wan Fairol Wan Ismail,  30, to declare section 66 as unconstitutional and an invalid law.

It (the Court of Appeal) overturned a High Court’s dismissal of the trio’s judicial review application which rejected their request to declare unconstitutional section 66. 

Muhamad Juzaili, Syukor and Wan Fairol, in their judicial review had named the Negri Sembilan government, the Negri Sembilan department of Islamic Religious Affairs, the director of the Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs and the Negri Sembilan Chief Syarie prosecutor as respondents. — Bernama