Malaysia’s PAS chief rebuked by Selangor sultan for ‘rude’ article questioning apex court’s ruling

The Federal Court has ruled that Kelantan, a PAS stronghold, cannot expand the scope of sharia law to include aspects of civil law

PAS chief Abdul Hadi Awang says Malaysian monarchs need to ‘have a vision towards the afterlife’ and not just focus on worldly matters

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Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) president Hadi Awang gestures during an interview at the party HQ in Kuala Lumpur in 2015. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:20pm, 29 Feb 2024Updated: 8:24pm, 29 Feb 2024

The head of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) received a rare royal rebuke on Thursday over his criticism of a recent apex court ruling that found the state of Kelantan had overreached in its sharia law implementation, with the sultan of Selangor accusing the lawmaker of “deliberately provoking political polemics”.

This came after the Federal Court ruled on February 12 that Kelantan, a PAS stronghold, cannot expand the jurisdiction of its sharia law to include criminal acts already covered by federal powers. The ruling came amid a surge in religious conservatism that has triggered more frequent cultural clashes across the country in recent years.

Kelantan, as well as other Malaysian states, has the power to legislate sharia law covering Islamic offences. But the state’s sharia court is subordinate to civil law courts.

A five-page letter from the palace of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah – the ruling monarch of the state of Selangor who is also the chairman of the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs – mentions PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang by name, accusing his article published on his party’s website on Tuesday of being “rude” and out of line.

In the article, the 76-year-old PAS leader wrote that the country’s monarchs need to “have a vision towards the afterlife” and not only on worldly matters, saying they would be judged by God on how they used their power and position while alive.

“The cynical statement of Abdul Hadi is very inappropriate and rude,” said the sultan’s private secretary, Muhamad Munir Bani, in a letter issued to Selangor’s PAS commissioner.

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