A lecturer here has called on the government to enact what he calls a Sorcery Criminal Act to deal with such practice in the country.

Ikip International College law lecturer Mahyuddin Ismail said the legislation would give the authorities the powers to act on such practice.

"Not only in Malaysia, other countries are also facing problems concerning sorcery but there are no solutions in terms of the law.

"Sorcery crimes can be proven in syariah as well as in civil court," he said in his working paper at a seminar on sorcery here today.

He said the legislation should provide among others, the setting up of a sorcery crime unit under the police force, which would have powers to investigate and tackle such crimes.

He said the unit could be assisted by a special advisory body comprising those with experience in dealing with paranormal phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Kuantan Syariah High Court Judge Rahman Md Yunus who opened the seminar told a news conference the enactment of such legislation was not

something impossible but said that it needed further studies.

The challenge would be on the prosecution particularly in obtaining concrete evidence, he said.

- Bernama