ALOR STAR: The Kedah government will examine the impact of the Federal Court's recent ruling on the Kelantan syariah criminal enactment, on the state's existing Islamic law.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said checks showed that there are seven syariah enactments in Kedah that are similar to the ones in Kelantan, which have been ruled as unconstitutional by the Federal Court.
"We have carried out a review… There are seven enactments (in Kedah) that are similar to (enactments) Kelantan.
"We will study the impact of the Federal Court decision and will take necessary action to strengthen the state's syariah legislation," Sanusi said when contacted by the NST today.
The Jeneri assemblyman said the state government would present findings of the study to the Sultan of Kedah, Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah for the next course of action.
Kedah is the second Perikatan Nasional-led state after Terengganu that announced the move to study their existing syariah enactments following the Federal Court's decision.
Yesterday, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar had said his administration was examining all aspects of the state's syariah law after the Federal Court ruled that 16 out of the 18 provisions under the Kelantan syariah criminal enactment were unconstitutional.
He was reported as saying that the move was meant to ensure that the state's syariah law did not contradict federal laws.
The apex court on Friday ruled that 16 provisions of offences under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment (1) 2019, were null and void, on the grounds that the State Legislature did not have the power to enact laws on them as there are federal laws covering the same offences.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led the nine-member bench, delivered the judgment.
Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had last year ordered the establishment of a special committee to conduct an in-depth and critical study on the competency of state legislative assemblies to enact Islamic laws under state enactments and the jurisdiction of Syariah Courts.