GEORGE TOWN: Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor has lauded the setting up of the Malaysian Syariah Prosecution Department (JPSM).
He said the setting up of the JPSM at federal level would not erode state power.
He said this was because it would not change the powers and functions of the states' syariah prosecution chief outlined in the respective state Islamic religious affairs enactments.
"In fact, the setting up of the JPSM is seen as a positive development, especially to separate the roles and duties of the enforcement and the prosecution," he told the New Straits Times.
Wan Salim said, by right, the JPSM should have been set up a long time ago to facilitate the management of cases submitted by the Muslim community to be resolved by the Syariah Court.
Yesterday, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan had said the JPSM would be established to further strengthen the Syariah legal ecosystem in the country.
He said the matter was being discussed by the relevant quarters at all levels.
Zulkifli had said the government was committed to implementing Syariah laws in a systematic and orderly manner, including through the proposed amendments of the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.
On Sunday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said the engagement sessions for the proposed amendments to the act were about to be concluded, with the forthcoming report scheduled for presentation to the cabinet before its anticipated tabling in Parliament later this year.