NIK ELIN Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid feels that all state legislative assemblies in Malaysia will now exercise greater care in ensuring that their religious enactments are harmonised with the laws of Malaysia under the ambit of the nation's courts.
The lawyer who hails from Kelantan said this in defending her action to file a petition challenging 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (l) Enactment 2019.
She said that everyone would agree that there was a constitutional breach in the state's enactment.
Speaking after the Federal Court ruling today to declare 16 of the provisions in the enactment as unconstitutional and invalid, she said that the petition mounted by herself and her daughter was for the good of all.
Nik Elin stressed that the ruling upholds the Federal Constitution as being supreme.
The matter has nothing to do with Islamic doctrine, she said when met by reporters at the Palace of Justice after the verdict was delivered.
"It is about the competency of the state legislative assembly," she said. "I have not done this for myself. I did this for all."
She said that as a lawyer she believes it is her duty and responsibility to defend the rule of law.
"As lawyers, we are officers of the court. I believe it is our duty as legal practitioners to uphold and protect the sovereignty of the law," she said.
"I am grateful (at the court's decision) after having been vilified, despised, and cursed,” she added.
"When I returned to Kelantan there was no criticism, everyone was supporting me.”
Earlier, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a nine-member panel of judges, had delivered the verdict declaring sixteen of the provisions in the Kelantan enactment as unconstitutional and invalid.
The petition was mounted by Nik Elin together with her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Abdul Rahman.
The duo 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.
Asked whether she will now challenge laws enacted by legislative assemblies in other states, Nik Elin laughed, saying that she does not intend to do so.
“I think they will be more careful in drafting the (state) legislations,” she said.
She stressed that the states will be more aware about harmonising their enactments with federal laws.
Chipping in, Tengku Yasmin, who was beside her, expressed hope that the outcome of their case will induce the Syariah court to be harmonised with the civil court. – The Vibes, February 9, 2024
