PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court reminded all parties to uphold the rule of law and avoid injecting political sentiment into the constitutional challenge of Kelantan Syariah Law.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said this after one of the lawyers involved in the proceedings publicly made controversial remarks regarding the matter.
Tengku Mainum said the statement made by lawyer Yusfarizal Yusoff who appeared for the Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council, was extremely uncalled for.
"Many people have been talking about this case, not to mention the distorted versions.
"The issue here is not about undermining Islam or Syariah Court but the competency of the enactment in the Kelantan Syariah law.
"We need to understand the background of the case," she said at the outset of today's proceeding.
On Sept 6, Pas's mouthpiece Harakahdaily quoted Yusfarizal as saying that the case was the final point before a 'gravestone' is placed upon the Syariah Court in this country.
The constitutional challenge was initiated by Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid, a lawyer born in Kelantan, and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman on May 25, 2022. They utilised Article 4(4) of the Federal Constitution to directly approach the Federal Court, listing the Kelantan state government as the respondent.
The duo contended that the power to legislate on criminal matters belongs exclusively to Parliament, with state assemblies only given the right to enact laws concerning the Islamic faith.
Article 4(4) enables the court to assess the validity of laws enacted by Parliament or a state legislature if it is believed that these bodies exceeded their legislative authority. The direct appeal to the Federal Court was chosen due to its exclusive jurisdiction granted by Article 128(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution for such matters.
In the case of constitutional challenges pursued through the Article 4(4) channel, permission or leave from a Federal Court judge is required to initiate the process.