KUALA LUMPUR – Seeing that most of the opposition MPs are absent from today’s Dewan Rakyat sitting, most of the queries for ministers during question time have been skipped.
As a result, Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said he is allowing three supplementary questions for each question read during question time – typically between 10am and 11am – today.
Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (Tampin-BN) said: “Tan Sri speaker, it is not that a lot of the MPs are absent, but not even one of the opposition MPs is here today.”
The opposition MPs are believed to be attending the Gerakan Selamatkan Syariah rally held in front of the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya this morning, ahead of the constitutional challenge hearing in the Federal Court.
PAS has characterised the case as an attack on Islam, condemning Nik Elin for allegedly undermining the faith through the suit.
In response, PAS is holding a Gerakan Selamatkan Shariah rally in front of the Palace of Justice here at the same time as the proceedings.
The Federal Court is set to hear a constitutional challenge brought by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman, against the 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019.
Chairing the nine-person bench at the apex court is Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
Other members of the panel include Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, and Federal Court judge Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan.
Joining them are Federal Court judges Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, Datuk Nordin Hassan, and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.
Nik Elin and Tengku Yasmin Natasha initiated the case on May 25 last year, seeking a declaration from the Federal Court to nullify these provisions, arguing their similarity to existing provisions under the Federal Lists and offences under the Penal Code.
The suit, filed under Article 128(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution, pertains to the competency of any legislature to make laws and falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the apex court.
On September 30, the mother-daughter duo invoked Article 4(4) of the federal constitution, and the Federal Court granted them leave to commence the suit.
The contested shariah provisions include Section 13 (selling or giving away a child to non-Muslim or morally reprehensible Muslim), Section 14 (sodomy), Sections 16 and 17 (sexual intercourse with a corpse and with a non-human), as well as Section 42 (abuse of halal label and connotation).
Notably, the initial list of 20 provisions was reduced to 18 during the case hearing on August 17, with the exclusion of Section 5 (false claim) and Section 37 (gambling).
Nik Elin and her daughter argue that the Kelantan state assembly lacks the authority to enact laws already covered by federal law, citing the preclusion clause. – November 20, 2023