Respect doctrines used in civil and syariah courts to ensure harmony

SHAH ALAM -Civil court judges should apply the syariah law perspective in making a decision that will be respected by others, says Malaysian Syariah Judiciary Department (JKSM) director-general Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.

This, he said was because ensuring harmony between civil and syariah bodies was important.

He said the Basic Structure Doctrine (BSD) was all about the supremacy of the constitution and judges were free to interpret the law.

"So if the Chief Justice wants to apply BSD, it revolves around the interpretation content and judges are free to interpret the law.

“It is the same thing if I apply the syariah law in my interpretation, I hope the civil court will respect the doctrine I used.

“But the question now is if there are discussions between JKSM and the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC). We are a different body from the civil court,” he said.

Mohd Na'im added that they could not influence the interpretation pattern made by the civil court judges and the same goes to the other side as well.

“If we discussed it with AGC, how far could AGC go? AGC is a different department from the courts because the interpretation was done by court and they don't have power to do that.

“Even if the discussion was held, if the Chief Justice wants to apply the doctrine what can you do because this is related to the law interpretation context,” he said.

He said this after attending the Celik al-Quran 4:34 programme organised by Yayasan Warisan Ummah Ikhlas entitled “Siapa Yang Nusyuz: Isteri @ Suami?" as a panellist.

Previously, it was reported that the government did not deny the possibility of discussions with various agencies related to the BSD issue that was said to be exploited by the civil courts.

The report was also based Gerakan Daulat's call for the government to be involved in stopping BSD application by the civil courts as decisions by the syariah courts were often challenged and cancelled.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad said they would revise the scenarios of the civil court that surmounted the syariah court.

He also hoped JKSM and AGC will hold a meeting to discuss the situation as soon as possible.