PETALING JAYA: The Kelantan government says it is disappointed by the Federal Court’s decision in favour of lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid, after the court struck down 16 provisions in the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019 on grounds that they are unconstitutional.
Deputy menteri besar Fadzli Hassan said that the state government would immediately inform the Kelantan sultan of the matter.
“The Kelantan government and the people of our state are disappointed by the decision. We will seek an audience with Sultan Muhammad V as soon as possible,” he said in a press conference at the Palace of Justice lobby.
Fadzli said despite the ruling, the state would continue to uphold shariah law in Kelantan, adding that its executive council has established a special committee on the matter.
SPONSORED CONTENT Mengalum for world’s first net zero carbon island resort Taiwan’s Sinyi Group is on track to unveil the world’s first unique net zero carbon island resort on Mengalum Island. . Read more “We will obtain the written grounds of the case and examine the decision. It will not stop here. We will find a way.
“I understand that our prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) and religious affairs minister (Na’im Mokhtar) have said that they will study the matter,” Fadzli said.
He added that any effort by the unity government to use its two-thirds majority to amend the Federal Constitution will have the support of opposition MPs.
“I also call on all those who support us to wait and pray, and we hope no one will do anything that breaks the law,” he said.
Previously, the nine-judge panel chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat ruled in an 8-1 majority that the Kelantan legislative assembly had no power to pass the 16 provisions in the shariah enactment, as the offences in question were already covered under federal law.
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