My Take | What Kelantan’s upended sharia push in Malaysia reveals about PAS’ Islamist politicking
- PAS had two years to push their agenda to elevate sharia courts in Malaysia, but remained curiously silent while holding federal power
- Now in opposition, they are blaming PM Anwar for the failure of Kelantan’s sharia push as a ploy to rally their base
Around a thousand Malaysians last Friday expressed outrage and shed tears as they gathered outside the country’s federal court, at a rally organised by Kelantan leaders ahead of a landmark ruling that rendered the state’s expansion of sharia law unconstitutional.
It was the usual spectacle associated with demonstrations organised by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) – especially ones that involve the Islamist party’s policies.
Their supporters vehemently decried attempts to undo what the state leaders had achieved, saying the moves were un-Islamic and defied Allah.
The drama surrounded a constitutional review filed in early 2022 by a Muslim lawyer and her daughter, months after the PAS-dominated Kelantan state assembly passed amendments to the state’s sharia criminal enactment that broadened its scope to include more than a dozen crimes as punishable under Islamic law.
Those crimes included incest, bestiality and the offering of sexual services, all of which already come under similar provisions under civil law – and with harsher punishments.
The federal court ruled as widely expected, albeit on an 8-1 majority, that Kelantan’s assembly had overstepped its bounds by attempting to enact laws that fall squarely under federal jurisdiction.
Malaysian Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who was born and bred in Kelantan, anticipated there would be a backlash against the decision.
