‘No let-up on 3R monitoring’

Photo: Bernama

PUTRAJAYA: Police surveillance on online 3R sentiments is ongoing, not just on issues related to last week’s Federal Court ruling, says the Home Minister.

Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said there was ongoing vigilance over these critical topics, including reactions to the court’s decision, which ruled that 16 provisions of Kelantan’s syariah state law were unconstitutional.

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“Should there be any overzealous comments or grievances, the dedicated task force for 3R cases at Bukit Aman will initiate an investigation,” he said.

Saifuddin Nasution said the controversy did not aim to undermine the authority of syariah courts.

He pointed out that throughout the Federal Court’s deliberations, no motions were presented to challenge the syariah courts’ role.

The focus, he explained, was on clarifying the boundaries of existing criminal law jurisdiction.

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Separately, the minister reported that a meeting was held to discuss the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca), prompted by the Federal Court’s 2022 ruling that found two sections of the Act unconstitutional due to violations of the separation of powers doctrine.

The meeting, which was held yesterday, aimed to gather insights from various stakeholders, including NGOs, police officials, and ministers such as Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Institutional Reform) and Gobind Singh Deo (Digital Minister).

In IPOH, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain warned against inciting extreme provocation, particularly on social media, in response to the Federal Court’s judgment on Kelantan’s Syariah Criminal Code.

He warned that such provocations could disrupt public order.

“On matters involving 3R, I have previously stated that issues concerning religious and racial sensitivities should be avoided,” he said.

Razarudin also said that police had received three reports from Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid following several death threats she had encountered online.

“One of these investigation files has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Chambers, while the remaining two are still under scrutiny. We have also identified the suspect,” he revealed.

The legal challenge by Nik Elin Zurina and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman led to the Federal Court’s nullification of 16 out of 18 provisions in the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code last Friday.