The National Human Rights Society (Hakam) has criticised PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang for calling for the abolition of all colonial-era laws that he said prevent Islamic laws from taking precedence over ‘man-made laws not permitted by Allah’.
Hakam president M Ramachelvam said the society was particularly concerned about the use of a politically convenient ‘colonial law’ argument to portray Malaysia’s constitutional and legal framework as an inherited foreign imposition standing in the way of Islam.
‘It is misleading to suggest that the constitutional limits on shariah jurisdiction are simply “colonial” restrictions which must be removed.
‘The appropriate question is not whether a law has historical colonial origins, but whether it is valid within Malaysia’s constitutional order today,’ he said in a statement.
Hakam highlights constitutional history
Ramachelvam said invoking ‘colonial law’ also overlooked the constitutional history of independent Malaya.
He said the Reid Commission was established to make recommendations for a constitution for an independent and self-governing Federation of Malaya, following consultations with political parties, representatives of the communities and the Malay rulers.
Its recommendations formed an important basis for the constitutional arrangements negotiated and ultimately adopted at independence.
‘The Federal Constitution was therefore not simply a colonial document imposed upon Malaya, but the product of extensive consultation and negotiation involving the political leadership, the communities and the Malay Rulers,’ Ramachelvam said.
Civil and shariah powers defined by Constitution
He also said the powers of the state and federal governments, as well as those of the civil and shariah courts, were defined under the constitutional framework, with Islam recognised as the religion of the federation.
Ramachelvam said laws could be reformed or repealed, but such changes must be debated based on their legal and constitutional merits.
He said they should not be justified through a narrative that reduces complex constitutional arrangements to a struggle between ‘colonial law’ and shariah law.
‘Political leaders have a deep and serious responsibility to ensure that public discourse on matters as fundamental as religion, law and constitutional rights does not become a vehicle for fear, resentment or distrust between communities,’ he said.
Hadi points to constitutional amendments
In his Minda Presiden PAS piece, Hadi said Article 4 of the Federal Constitution established it as the country’s supreme law, and that any law inconsistent with the Constitution could be invalidated.
He said this meant that the full implementation of shariah criminal law would require extensive constitutional amendments.
