Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

The Bar Council is wholly disappointed at the decision of the Terengganu State Government to pass the Syariah Criminal Offences (Hudud and Qisas) Terengganu Bill notwithstanding opposition against the Bill in the strongest of terms from numerous women groups, non-governmental organisations, politicians and members of the general Malaysian public, both Muslim and non-Muslim.

The passing of the said Bill in itself demonstrates the utter disregard and defiance by the Terengganu State Government towards the will and opinion of the general public, the Rule of Law and the Constitutional framework of the nation. The new law also violates the constitutional right of equality before the law in its discrimination between Muslims and non-Muslims and encourages injustice and discrimination against women.

The statement of Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang as to the eventual application of the new legislation to non-Muslims further serves to threaten the stability, peace and harmony enjoyed by Malaysians of other religions. An assurance that such extended application will be implemented only after non-Muslims are 'fully informed' of the said law is not inconsistent with an eventual possibility of the law being foisted upon non-Muslims who, despite understanding the law, have objections to the same.

Should offenders be allowed to opt for the jurisdiction of Syariah Courts if they have greater confidence in the justice of the said Courts compared to Civil Courts, confusion will be an inevitable result. Offenders will be able to choose what is perceived to be the less stringent law or procedure under which they are to be tried. If the rationale of the new law is to curtail criminal offences, such a freedom given to offenders as suggested by State Executive Councillor Encik Wan Abdul Muttalib will not serve the ends of justice and merely makes a mockery of the entire criminal justice system.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed