Act 355: Ex-CJ rejects Article 8 argument

Former chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim said Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, concerning equality before the law, does not apply to attempts to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).

At a conference yesterday, Ahmad Fairuz said Muslims are not asking for non-Muslims to be subjected to Islamic laws, according to Mingguan Malaysia.

"Muslims are happy to be subject to Islamic laws. Why are non-Mulims trying to apply equality in this matter?

"Muslims are not seeking equality in this matter," said Ahmad Fairuz, who was referring to Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong's argument against amending Act 355.

In 2014, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang initiated a bill to amend Act 355 to lift the penalty cap on the Syariah Court and facilitate the implementation of hudud law in Malaysia.

After discussions with Putrajaya, Abdul Hadi amended the bill to set a higher penalty cap instead, increasing penalties to a maximum RM100,000 fine, 30 years' prison sentence and 100 lashes.

Currently, the penalty cap is set at RM5,000 fine, 3 years' prison sentence and 6 lashes.

Putrajaya has since vowed to take over Abdul Hadi's bill. It is expected to be debated during the current Dewan Rakyat sitting. The bill is the seventh item of the Dewan Rakyat order paper.

Challenge anti-unilateral conversion law

On the proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, Ahmad Fairuz recommend opponents to challenge the amendments in court.

"Let the court decide if the (proposed) amendments is against the Quran, the sunnah or Article 3 of the Federal Constitution (religion of the federation)," he said.

The bill to amend this, tabled last November, sought to resolve problems arising from divorce and child custody issues after a spouse has converted to Islam.

A new provision stipulates that the religion of any child of a civil marriage shall maintain the same religion, even if one spouse converts to Islam, with the exception that both parents agree to the conversion.

The marriage and divorce law amendment is currently number five on the order paper, and is the third out of four government bills.- Mkini