Existence of Mahathir's JAKIM is unconstitutional

Syariah courts infringing non-Muslims rights: You did this, Siti Kasim reminds Dr M



WITH former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lamenting that Islamic religious authorities wield too much power, a prominent lawyer-activist hit out at the former for being instrumental in the problem.

“Who allowed the amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution to happen back in the 1980s, which is now hijacked by certain people to give more power to Syariah Courts?

“This was the pre-cursor of all our problems now. Return to our original Federal Constitution. Amend laws that have blurred the lines between Civil and Syariah Courts,” said Siti Kasim, on Facebook.



In his latest book titled Capturing Hope: The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia, Mahathir criticised the Syariah system, saying that Syariah courts and religious authorities have subjected non-Muslims to their jurisdiction in certain cases.

“Although the Malaysian Syariah law states that the Syariah court only has jurisdiction over Muslims, religious authorities and the religious courts have subjected non-Muslim spouses to their jurisdiction as well,” he said, referring to several contentious custody battles involving conversion of children to Islam.

“We are still unable to solve the complex problems arising from the overlapping jurisdictions when common law says one thing and shariah law says another,” Free Malaysia Today reported him as saying.

The Langkawi MP added that forcing Syariah law on non-Muslims was likely to cause protests, resistance and instability, calling it “an action abhorrent in the Quran” and “constitutionally impossible”.

It is to note that before 1988, Syariah courts had limited scope on handling the affairs of Muslims, such as marriage, guardianship and inheritance.

However, things changed drastically after UMNO had an internal strife after a hotly contested party polls, led by Tun Dr Mahathir’s Team A and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s Team B.

Following Mahathir’s contentious win, the nation was shocked after the latter launched Operasi Lalang in 1987, where many Opposition leaders and civil society movements’ members got arrested under the now defunct Internal Security Act.

Subsequently, Mahathir embarked on various constitutional amendments in 1988, which clipped the wings of Malaysia’s then fiercely independent judiciary and provided more power to Syariah courts.

Islam falls under Rulers’ purview, not Putrajaya

Touching on the matter, Siti Kasim reminded politicians that the Federal Constitution clearly mentions that Islam comes under the purview of Sultans, not the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) or any other state religious authorities.

“In fact, JAKIM’s existence is highly questionable and many lawyers are of the opinion that the agency is unconstitutional,” she mentioned.

It is to note that JAKIM was established in 1997, during Mahathir’s first tenure as premier. The view that agency is unconstitutional was also shared by Tengku Razaleigh, who told the media in February 2018 that Mahathir established it to counter PAS’ growing influence among the Muslims.

Elaborating, Siti Kasim opined that Putrajaya has no business managing any religion and the people should aspire for a separation of religion and state to avoid abuses of religion as can be seen happening now.

“The Federal Government should manage the welfare of all Malaysians. Return the management of Islam to the Sultans as prescribed by our Federal Constitution.

“Our Rulers are not mere ceremonial figureheads but have real powers in the management of Islam,” she stressed. – Dec 13, 2021