Johor to carry out in-depth study following landmark Federal Court ruling, says MB

JOHOR BARU: Johor will be carrying out an in-depth study following the recent landmark judgment on Kelantan syariah criminal law by the Federal Court.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said that this was necessary to ensure that any decision made at the state level does not conflict with the federal level.

“This matter involves the law and I believe Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has made a statement on the matter and Johor Umno is in line with what has been mentioned.

“However, at the state level, we will carefully study the Federal Court's decision because we do not want to conflict with matters decided at the state and federal levels.

"Also, this is a very sensitive matter, so it needs to be studied very carefully," he said in a press conference after chairing the Johor Umno meeting held at its headquarters here on Sunday (Feb 11).

On Friday (Feb 9), the Federal Court ruled that 16 provisions of the Kelantan syariah criminal law were unconstitutional.

In an 8-1 majority decision, the apex court allowed the application by a mother and daughter duo who challenged 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment 2019.

Kelantan-born lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman had filed their challenge on May 25 last year at the Federal Court via Article 4(4) of the Federal Constitution, naming the Kelantan state government as the respondent.