Kelantan ready to defend new shariah law in court, says deputy MB
Fadzli Hassan says the enactment was drafted after various parties, including legal, shariah and constitutional experts, scrutinised the proposed provisions.
Kelantan's deputy chief minister, Fadzli Hassan, has declared that the state is prepared to defend the newly enacted Shariah Criminal Offences (Kelantan) Enactment 2026 if any party attempts to challenge it in a court of law. The new law, which has undergone a thorough drafting process incorporating various perspectives including legal, shariah, and constitutional experts, is designed to align with the Federal Constitution and the grounds of judgment in a 2024 Federal Court case where 16 provisions were deemed unconstitutional and exceeding the state's legislative powers.
Deputy Chief Minister Fadzli emphasized that the law was only passed after approval from multiple committees and the Kelantan Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council. However, lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Rashid, one of the petitioners in the 2024 case, has expressed concern that 11 provisions in the new law could also be challenged in court based on her interpretation of the legislation.
She cautioned that the law might eventually become "political rhetoric" and face judicial scrutiny in a "Nik Elin 2.0" case, stressing that laws should genuinely bring justice and benefit to the people rather than serving as mere symbols of power.
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- Kelantan ready to defend new shariah law in court, says deputy MB freemalaysiatoday.com
