WE refer to reports on PKR defacto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s views on the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (RUU355) and that non-Muslims have every right to debate laws, including syariah laws, on the basis that these affect them as well.
He also said RUU355 was Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s interpretation.
With respect, Anwar is clearly wrong on both counts. We, at the Centre for Human Rights Research & Advocacy, have maintained that syariah laws, in particular RUU355, only affect the Muslims.
This is clear from Item 1 of List II of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which provides that syariah courts, which are the subject of RUU355, have jurisdiction only over Muslims, and not non-Muslims.
As for RUU355 being merely Hadi’s interpretation, with respect, this is not so as the jurisdiction of courts has always been increased as a matter of routine since the jurisdiction of the courts was last increased in 1984 and the civil courts also had their own jurisdictions enhanced in 2010.
AZRIL MOHD AMIN
Lawyer and chief executive, Centre for Human Rights Research & Advocacy