The Kedah State Parliament has recently passed the bill to establish a Supreme Sharia Court
ALOR SETAR, August 26 – The Kedah State Legislative Assembly today passed a bill to incorporate the Sharia Court into the Kedah Constitution.
The Kedah State Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024, which also provides for the establishment of the Shariah Prime Court, was introduced by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor before being debated and unanimously passed by members of the State Assembly.
Introducing the bill, Muhammad Sanusi said the amendment was in line with the decree of the Sultan of Kedah, Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, to empower the Sharia Court and make it subordinate to the state constitution.
“Sultan Sallehuddin also called on the government to review the structure of the Sharia court, such as its hierarchical system, to ensure greater justice to the parties involved.
“In order to comply with the Sultan’s decree and improve the status of the Sharia Court, the state government is of the view that it should be brought under the Constitution of Kedah to make it a key institution in line with the status of Islam in the state,” he said.
Muhammad Sanusi said the current structure of the Shariah Court in Kedah consists of three levels, namely the Shariah Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Lower Court.
He said that in order to ensure a fair trial, an additional layer must be introduced into the Sharia Court structure in Kedah, namely the Sharia Prime Court.
Muhammad Sanusi said that under this new structure, cases heard before the Supreme Shariah Court can be reviewed by the Shariah Appeals Court and referred to the Supreme Shariah Court if necessary.
In today’s session, the Kedah Assembly unanimously passed four more bills relating to Islamic legal matters in the state.
The bills were the Supplementary State Expenditure Enactment No. 1 of 2024, the Syariah Court Enactment (Kedah Darul Aman) Bill 2024, the Islamic Law Administration Enactment (Kedah Darul Aman) (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Islamic Family Law Enactment (Kedah Darul Aman) (Amendment) Bill 2024. — Bernama
