KUALA TERENGGANU – The Terengganu assembly today passed the Shariah Criminal Offences (Takzir)(Amendment) Enactment 2022 which, among other things, includes Section 3A involving witchcraft and sorcery activities.
State Shariah Implementation, Education and Higher Education Committee chairman Datuk Satiful Bahari Mamat said the amendment also involved Section 33A (women acting like men), Section 36A (preparation for sodomy), and Section 29A (pregnant or giving birth to a child out of wedlock).
“We are trying to make use of the opportunity by maximising the punishment based on Section 356, namely a three-year jail term, a fine of RM5,000 and six lashes.
“With this amendment, we hope that the well-being of Muslims, especially in Terengganu, will be better protected,” he told reporters after the state assembly session at Wisma Darul Iman, here today.
On the witchcraft and sorcery-related section, Satiful Bahari said a special committee had been established under the Terengganu Religious Affairs Department to monitor the matter and ensure that the state’s Muslim community did not seek alternative treatments that conflicted with Islamic law.
He elaborated that the punishment would only be meted out on individuals who provide such treatments, and not the patients.
The section on women acting like men, he said, was needed because the existing legal provisions only involved men acting like women.
“In the past, there might not have been much of this issue (women acting like men). Now, however, we see that ‘pengkid’ (tomboys or lesbians) and similar cases are becoming more widespread. So, the state government intends to curb this issue,” he said.
In addition to the four sections’ inclusion, he said today’s amendment also involved 21 existing sections and would come into force after receiving Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin’ consent. – Bernama, December 1, 2022
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