THE KELANTAN State Assembly today unanimously approved a motion to re-enact 16 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (l) Enactment 2019 which were declared unconstitutional and invalid by the Federal Court earlier this month.
The motion was read by Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah after it was tabled by PAS' Melor assemblyman Wan Rohimi Wan Daud.
It was assented to by all the reps, including the two from the opposition.
Mohd Amar said that, with the passing of the motion, the Kelantan state assembly called for the re-tabling of provisions that had been declared null and void.
According to him, the Kelantan State Assembly in session also lamented the verdict to annul the 16 sections.
In its decision on February 9, the Federal Court had ruled the Kelantan state assembly had approved laws that it did not have the authority to make.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a nine-member panel of judges, delivered the historic verdict following a challenge mounted by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Abdul Rahman, both natives of Kelantan.
They claimed that the Kelantan State Legislature did not have the power to enact laws on these offences because there are federal laws covering the same.
They had filed the petition directly with the Federal Court under Article 4(4) of the Federal Constitution, naming the Kelantan government as the sole respondent in this case.
They contended that the state provisions addressing syariah offences, encompassing acts such as incest, gambling, sodomy, and sexual harassment, were deemed invalid since these matters are already addressed by federal law.
However, the panel decided that two other provisions that were also challenged were valid. – The Vibes, March 6, 2024
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