The administration of Syariah Courts in Malaysia, 1957–2009

Abstract

This article analyses the development of the administration of Syariah Courts in Malaysia from the pre-colonial to the post-independence periods. The status of Islam as the official religion during the Malacca Sultanate and the application of Islamic law throughout the administration during that period are agreed upon by most historians. The structure of courts consisting of subordinate and superior levels with the Sultan as the head of the judiciary shows the existence of an organized structure which recognized natural justice as one of the rules of law. After Merdeka (independence), the restructuring and restoring of Syariah Courts in Malaysia took more than 40 years. Subsequently, the current Syariah Court acts and state enactments have been amended and improved to bring them into line with the policy of the government, current situations, and legal pluralism in Malaysia. The process of reform of the Syariah Court was slow, but Muslims in Malaysia handled the matter with tolerance, perseverance, and patience, and, most importantly, without jeopardizing the peace and harmony which is the hallmark of Malaysia as a nation.

Keywords:

• Syariah Court
• Malaysia
• colonisation
• Islam
• Malacca Sultanate

Notes

¹Malay State means one of the Malay States as circumstances may require and includes all dependencies, islands and places which, on 1 December 1941, were administered as part thereof and the territorial waters adjacent thereto; Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948, Section 2.

²Johan M. Meuleman, ‘The History of Islam in Southeast Asia: Some Questions and Debates’, in KS Nathan and Mohammad Hashim Kamali (eds), Islam in Southeast Asia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore 2005) 22-3.

³Some would say that Tanah Melayu was not part of the British colonies but British Possessions and Protectorates. Tanah Melayu belongs to the Malays and the British are merely trustees; Roland Braddel, The Legal Status of the Malay States (Malaya Publ., Singapore 1931) 5-7. However, Hussin Mutalib had used the term “Colonialism”; Hussin Mutalib, Islam in Southeast Asia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore 2008) 8-9.

⁴Sir Richard Winstedt, ‘Kingship and Enthronement in Malaya’ (1947) 20(1) J Malay Branch R Asia Soc 130-7.

⁵Abdul Aziz B. Mohd Ariff, Undang-Undang Kedah Sebelum Penjajahan Inggeris: Satu Penilaian sejarah (UKM, Bangi 1996-97) 109.

⁶Ramizah Wan Muhammad, ‘The Islamic Judicial Administration System in Malaysia’ (2009) 26(1) KANUN 25. [in Malay]

⁷Baskin and Winks, Malaysia: Selected Historical Readings (Oxford University Press, Singapore 1966) 23.

⁸SE Merry, ‘Mediation in Non Industrialised Societies, in K Kressel and DG Pruittpp (eds), Mediation Research (Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA 1989) 68-90.

⁹James A. Wall, ‘Malaysian Community Mediation’ (1999) 43 J Conflict Resolut 344-5.

¹⁰Al Quran Surah al Nisa (4:128): “and such amicable settlement is best”.

¹¹Michael G. Peletz, Islamic Modern Religious Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2002) 26.

¹²Ibid. 26-7.

¹³MP Jain, Administrative Law of Malaysia and Singapore (MLJ, Kuala Lumpur 1997).

¹⁴Farid Sufian Shuaib, ‘Development of Syariah Courts in Malaysia: Waves of Reformation’ (2008) 9 Curr Law J xli.

¹⁵RJ Wilkinson, ‘Papers on Malay Subjects’, in Law (Kuala Lumpur 1971); cited in Ahmad Ibrahim and Ahilemah Jonid, The Malaysian Legal System (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur 1988) 54.

¹⁶J Kennedy, A History of Malaya (S. Abdul Majeed, Kuala Lumpur 1993) 100-1.

¹⁷Emily Sadka, The Protected Malay States 1874-1895 (University of Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur 1968) xiv.

¹⁸Perak Courts Enactment 1905.

¹⁹Iza R Hussin, ‘The Politics of Islamic Law Local Elites, Colonial Authority and the Making of Muslim State’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Washington 2008) 112-13.

²⁰Section 6, Court Enactment Kelantan 1955.

²¹Abdul Majid Mohamad Mackeen, ‘The Shariah Law Courts in Malaya’, in Ahmad Ibrahim, Sharon Siddque and Yasmin Hussin (eds), Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore 1985) 229.

²²Abdul Aziz Bari, ‘Judiciary’, in Abdul Rashid Moten (ed), Government and Politics in Malaysia (Cengage Learning, Kuala Lumpur 2008) 25-6.

²³Ahmad Ibrahim, ‘Shariah Courts in Malaysia: Past, Present and Future’, in Ahmad Ibrahim and Abdul Monir Yaacob (eds), The Administration of Islamic Laws (IKIM, Kuala Lumpur 1997) 23-9.

²⁴Ahmad Ibrahim, ‘The Shariah Court in Malaysia’ (1986) 2 Malayan Law J cxxxiii.

²⁵Cited in Abdullah Alwi Haji Hassan, The Administration of Islamic law in Kelantan (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur 1996) 30.

²⁶RR Sethu, ‘Re-Defining the Appellate Role of the Federal Court’ (1999) 4 Malayan Law J cxlv-cxlciv.

²⁷Articles 121(1), 121(1A) and 121(2) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

²⁸The Syariah Courts in the Federal Territories such as Kuala Lumpur and Labuan are created by Parliament; see Section 40-57 of the Administration of Islamic law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 Act 505.

²⁹Shamrahayu A Aziz, ‘Islamic Legal System’, in Syed Arabi Idid (ed), Malaysia at 50: Achievements and Aspirations (Thomson Learning, Kuala Lumpur 2007) 236.

³⁰The author confined it to family problems because of the limited jurisdiction conferred by the Federal Constitution to the State Legislative Council to enact Islamic laws in every state in Malaysia. See the 9th schedule State List II of the Federal Constitution.

³¹Mohamed Imam, ‘Syariah/Civil Courts’ Jurisdiction in Matters of Hukum Syara': A Persisting Dichotomy' (1995) 1 CLJ 6.

³²Roberts v Ummi Kalsum [1966] 1 MLJ 163, Nafsiah v Abdul Majid [1969] 2 MLJ 174, Myriam v Mohamed Ariff [1971] 1 MLJ 265, Ali Mat bin Khamis v Jamaliah Bte Kassim [1974] 1 MLJ 18.

³³Farid Sufian Shuaib, Powers and Jurisdiction of Syariah Courts in Malaysia (Lexis Nexis, Kuala Lumpur 2008) 155.

³⁴Ahmad Ibrahim, ‘The Amendment of Article 121 of the Federal Constitution: Its Effect on Administration of Islamic Law’ (1989) 2 Malaya Law J xvii.

³⁵Shahamin Faizal Kung Bin Abdullah v Asma Bte Haji Yunus [1991] 2 CLJ 327.

³⁶Farid Sufian Shuaib, Powers and Jurisdiction of Syariah Courts in Malaysia (2nd edn Lexis Nexis Malaysia Bhd, Kuala Lumpur 2008) 108-09.

³⁷Mohamed Habibullah v. Faridah Bte Dato' Talib' [1992] 2 MLJ 803.

³⁸Mohamed Hakim Lee v. Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan [1998] 1 MLJ 681, Soon Sing v. Pertubuhan kebajikan Islam Malaysia (PERKIM) [1999] 1 MLJ 489, Lina Joy v. Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan [2007] 4 MLJ 585, Latifah bte Mat Zin v. Rosmawati bte Sharibun & Anor [2007] 5 MLJ 101.

³⁹Ng Wan Chan v. Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan & Anor [1991] 3 MLJ 487, Lim Chan seng v. Director of Department of Religious Affairs Pulau Pinang [1996] 3 CLJ 231, Barkath Ali bin Abu Backer v. Anwar Kabir bin abu Backer [1997] 4 MLJ 389.

⁴⁰Lina Joy v Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan & Anor [2007] 4 MLJ 585.

⁴¹Latifah Bte Mat Zin v Rosmawati Bt Sharibu & Anor [2007] 5 MLJ 101.

⁴²Ahmad Ibrahim, ‘The Roles and Future of Syariah Legal Officials in Malaysia’ (1997) 11(1) Jurnal Hukum 10-11. [in Malay]

⁴³Ramizah Wan Muhammad, ‘Sejarah Pentadbiran Kehakiman Islam di Malaysia: Satu Sorotan’ (2009) 21(1) KANUN 1.

⁴⁴Farid Sufian Shuaib, ‘Constitutional Restatement of Parallel Jurisdiction Between Civil Courts and Syariah Courts in Malaysia: Twenty Years On (1988-2008)’ (2008) 5 Malaya Law J 35.

⁴⁵It ceased from operation in 1989 after the new law was introduced, i.e. Administration of Islamic law 1989.

⁴⁶Practice Direction No. 2/2001 issued by JKSM on 2 February 2001.

⁴⁷Ramizah Wan Muhammad, ‘The Theory and Practice of Sulh (Mediation) in the Malaysian Shariah Courts’ (2008) 16(1) IIUM Law J 33.

⁴⁸“Enforcing Syariah Court Decision”, New Straits Times (Malaysia 15 June 2008) 16.