Muslim inheritance administration needs reform

KUALA LUMPUR - The administration of Muslim inheritance needs reform and renewal to suit the current technological developments and digitalisation.

Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said that there were challenges and opportunities in strengthening property management through the use of appropriate and innovative technology.

He said it was because there were many parties involved such as courts, property management institutions such as banks, land offices and legal practitioners.

"I praise and take as an example the civil court system that facilitates online case application including case management, pre-trial which provides facilities for the community to obtain justice faster and easier.

"For the Syariah Court, the appointment of a Syariah lawyer through ‘wakalah’ can be done online while new case applications are still done at the filing counter.

"The advantage is that the filed application review can be done in real-time as it allows a document to be scrutinised first by relevant parties for its suitability before being accepted for filing," he shared.

Na'im pointed out that legal practitioners whether advocates, solicitors or syarie lawyers played an important role in the effort to become preachers for Islamic inheritance management.

He stressed that they were responsible for providing legal advice to heirs and parties involved.

"Their duties include ensuring that the drafting and implementation of inheritance instruments such as grants, wills, trusts, faraids and inheritance distribution processes are done fairly," he added.