ABOUT 1,500 PAS supporters have gathered near the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya to perform the solat hajat as part of the Gerakan Selamatkan Shariah rally.
Attendees, including Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud, PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Idris Ahmad, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and former Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa, began gathering from as early as 8am.
A number of participants came all the way from Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu. Some were spotted with Palestine flags while others held up placards saying “Defend Kelantan’s shariah enactments”.
This comes as a mother and daughter asks the Federal Court to declare several shariah criminal offences enacted by the Kelantan assembly as unconstitutional. The case’s proceedings continue before the apex court today.
Kelantan-born lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman are claiming that the 18 provisions involve offences that are in the exclusive realm of federal law.
The duo filed their challenge on May 25 directly at the Federal Court via Article 4(4) of the federal constitution, with the Kelantan government named as the respondent.
The Federal Court has exclusive jurisdiction to decide such questions, based on Article 128(1)(a) of the federal constitution.
After hearing arguments from lawyers for both the two women and the Kelantan government, Federal Court judge Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat had, on September 30, allowed the pair to commence their legal challenge.
Among the 18 provisions include Section 5 (false claims); Section 13 (selling or giving away a child to a non-Muslim or morally reprehensible Muslim); Section 14 (sodomy); Section 16 (sexual intercourse with a corpse) and Section 17 (sexual intercourse with a non-human).
The hearing is being held before a nine-member panel of judges, with Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat presiding over it.
The other members of the panel are Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, Court of Appeal judge Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, Federal Court judges Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, Datuk Nordin Hassan, and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.
Nik Elin and her daughter are represented by counsels Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Surendra Anath, while Datuk Kamaruzaman Muhammad Arif appears for the Kelantan Islamic Religious Affairs Department. – The Vibes, November 20, 2023
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