Friday, August 24, 2007

Should Syariah Law replace the British Common Law?

This is what I saw from Tha Star:


N E W S
Nation Friday August 24, 2007

Minister: Study proposal on switch to Syariah law thoroughly

PUTRAJAYA: The proposal to use Syariah law to replace English common law in court proceedings should be studied thoroughly first, said Datuk Dr Abdullah Zin.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said the move, if approved, should be done in stages.

Lauding the proposal by Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, he said Syariah law gave importance to justice.

It would also be a further development for Syariah law in the country in addition to introducing a uniform syariah law in all states, Dr Abdullah sai d yesterday.

“We are already in the process of getting a uniform syariah law in all 14 states including the Federal Territory relating to family, administration and criminal law.

“If there are more proposals for the development of Syariah law, they are most welcome but it should be done in stages,” he told reporters after opening the seminar on
counselling for Muslim terminally ill patients here.

Ahmad Fairuz had said that there was no need to use English common law after 50 years of independence, suggesting another procedure as a substitute.

He said Sections 3 and 5 of the Civil Law Act permitted judges wide discretion to import English common law, equity and statutes
into the legal system to fill gaps in Malaysian laws.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail also responded positively to Ahmad Fairuz’s proposal.

On the seminar, Dr Abdullah said the Islamic way of treating terminally ill patients was not to tell them how many “months they had left to live”.

“The Islamic way is to give them hope and the will to continue to survive and let them depend on their own physical strength to keep them alive,” he said.

************
I was shocked seeing this...how could it...???!!! i mean,can the religious law be applied to ALL without the consider of their own religion?I thought Mlaysia is a harmonious multicultural and multi-all country...

6 comments:

KahJoon said...

i dont know what this Fairuz is thinking ! Syariah law gives importance to justice. As if English common law doesn't. Leaders please remember the Constitution and the Merdeka social contract! English Common Law has pride and place in our Constitution. If it weren't for the Constitution and the Merdeka social contract, do u think sabah & sarawak will join Malaysia? No way! think again! this country is not an islamic country! You cant impose islamic laws on us u fool !

Fight for our rights!

KahJoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ViViEnNe said...

stil,islamic status is like...'official'??i mean,its back 2 d definition thing again..all in all,i jus cant believe it when i read this..us--syariah law??erm..maybe we cant eat pork..H.A.H.A ...where's human's basic rationale?

Carmen N said...

Let's not get too over-excited without being well-informed.

What exactly is Syariah law? What's the place of non-Muslims within Syariah? I don't think it is as simple as no-one can eat pork.

The question is: can Syariah law be applied to non-Islamic states? I guess this makes me wonder if Najib's statement about Malaysia being an Islamic state is a precursor to the introduction of this idea of Syariah law taking over Common Law.

Then my second question would be: has Syariah been successfully applied in countries where there is a sizeable non-Muslim population, like Malaysia? If yes, then what countries might those be and how has the law been administered there?

Before we jump the gun, we need to do our research first.

ViViEnNe said...

i dun knw about the 2nd Qs but the first,it jus carries too much religious elements i guess..n i always believe there could be misinterpretation of the improtant statements by 'jahil' or foolish humans...where the riots n all happens...(well,bcz i stil believe all religions come frm the same spot,teaches the same thing,jus diff 'lecturer' diff style)n when d big R comes in,every other thing SEEMS to have no place then......would it??

小燕子 said...

Perhaps you guys should get a copy of Malaysian & The Club of Doom written by Syed Akbar Ali. A very good book that reveals many interesting things about Islam. Eg, how dogs and pigs are to be treated and other Islamic practises that most of us have misinterpreted. Also, most of the 'extreme' practices such as stone to death are found in Bilble. Ha Ha, believe it or not lah yeah...

cheers!