Tai Lo Chin's letter T'ganu to set up own prisons, police? plainly shows the Umno-led Barisan Nasional is playing to the confusion and ignorance of the non-Muslims and Muslims alike.

Islamic criminal law consists of three parts namely: hudud, qisas and takzir . Takzir is simply the law that governs offences that do not fall within hudud and qisas . Takzir or by any other name has been part of each state's Islamic law and enactments since Merdeka and the states' rights are clearly enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

But by stating that the Terengganu's Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) Enactment 2001 is against the constitution is like saying that whatever syariah law passed by each state assembly for the past 45 years is null and void.

Hence, can one then invoke the Constitution as a defence when charged for committing khalwat (close proximity between sexes)?