Hadi calls for abolition of ‘colonial laws’ to make Syariah rule supreme in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, September 9 — PAS leader Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has called for the abolition of what he termed colonial-era laws, asserting that these impediments hinder the full implementation of Syariah law in Malaysia. The Marang MP's statement, "Independence: Abolish Colonial Laws That Obstruct the Implementation of Islam," argued that true independence cannot be achieved while laws inherited from British rule continue to subordinate Islam above human-made legislation.

Hadi stated that "colonial-legacy laws must be abolished to ensure the true meaning of independence can be fully realised," emphasizing that laws hindering Islam's superior position despite their numerous loopholes must be eliminated. Among the statutes he criticized were the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, the Civil Law Act 1956 and the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which, in Hadi's view, restrict state Syariah courts from meting out punishments he deemed Islamic.

To support his argument, Hadi invoked the late Islamic law scholar Ahmad Ibrahim and former judges Tun Salleh Abas and Tun Ahmad Fairuz, who all advocated for a broader interpretation of Article 3(1) in the Federal Constitution, thus recognizing Islam as a way of life, not just a ritual-bound religion. The statement also traced the historical constitutional debate over Islam's status back to the 1956 Reid Commission, where an early draft had advocated for Malaysia to remain a secular state while recognizing Islam as the federation's religion—a position which was ultimately rejected following objections from the Malay Rulers and PAS.

Hadi also criticized the DAP for opposing further Islamization of the legal system and accused them of blocking a past private member's bill Hadi proposed to raise the sentencing limits of Act 355. The PAS president asserted that PAS sees the matter as a religious principle rather than politics, having severed political ties with parties it deemed as challenging Islam's constitutional position.