KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — The Kelantan government’s amendment of its state Shariah law allowing public caning cannot be enforced without parliamentary approval, according to lawyer Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari.
Khutubul, the Bar Council’s Shariah law committee chairman, said the amendments to the state’s Syariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2002 still hinges on federal approval to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, also known as Act 355, The Star reported today.
“You can only do that if Parliament allows you… Parliament hasn’t,” Kuthubul Zaman was quoted as saying.
He explained that Article 75 of the Federal Constitution clearly states that federal law supersedes state law if there is a conflict between the two.
In the same news report, Gerakan Youth legal bureau chairman Chai Ko Ting said the Kelantan government’s amendments is also gone against the Prison Regulations 2000.
According to Chai, the Prison Regulations states that caning must be done in prison and not in public.
“There are no Shariah prisons or Shariah prison officers.
“The amendments cannot be carried out because the officers, who will carry out the caning, are federal officers governed by federal law, namely the Prison Regulations 2000,” he was quoted as saying.
He urged the Attorney-General’s Chambers to clarify the matter.
MCA religious harmony bureau chairman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said on Wednesday that the amendment bill is unconstitutional and would destroy the country’s legal system.
However, some other Muslim legal experts have offered a different view.
An associate professor at the International Islamic University, Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz, told The Star in a separate report that the Shariah courts have the power to impose caning as punishment.
“So if the number of lashes is not more than six, then it is fine,” she was quoted saying.
She, however, pointed that the state must allocate a proper area for public caning and must define who would be allowed to witness the punishment.
Malaysian Syarie Lawyers Association president Musa Awang was reported saying Kelantan’s amendments did not contradict the Federal Constitution, adding that it was only to improve existing caning procedures.
“The maximum number of lashes is still six but the court will make the final call on whether this should be done in public or not,” he was quoted as saying.
Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said Kelantan has the powers to decide and amend its own Shariah laws.
He added the amendments were in accordance with the Quran and had nothing to do with the proposed amendments to Act 355.
The all-Muslim Kelantan state legislative assembly passed the amendment its state Shariah law to allow public caning for four offences: sodomy, illicit sex (zina), alcohol consumption and false accusation.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who weighed in on the matter yesterday said the whipping would only be applicable on Muslim offenders.
