The Selangor state legislative assembly has no power to enact laws which restricted freedom of speech and expression, the Federal Court in Putrajaya heard today.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar submitted that only Parliament was vested with powers to enact laws to restrict speech and expression in Malaysia.

Therefore, he said, Section 16 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment 1995 which his client, publishing company ZI Publications Sdn Bhd director, Mohd Ezra Mohd Zaid, was charged under for allegedly publishing the Malay translation of Irshad Manji’s book titled ‘Allah, Kebebasan & Cinta’, was invalid.

Malik said the matter concerning ZI Publication and Mohd Ezra pertained to freedom of expression.

He said the Selangor government’s contention that the legislative powers to enact Section 16 derived from the Ninth Schedule List II, Item 1 of the federal constitution, could not be accepted as it could lead to a conflict between the federal law which did not criminalise the publication of materials contrary to ‘hukum syarak’ (syariah law) and state law.

Selangor assistant legal adviser Ahmad Fuad Othman, who appeared for the Selangor government, lawyer Mubashir Mansor representing the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) and senior federal counsel Suzana Atan appearing for the Malaysian government, had respectively argued that Section 16 of that state Islamic enactment was validly enacted by the Selangor state legislative assembly.

Ahmad Fuad said Article 74 (2) of the federal constitution read together with Item 1 of the Ninth Schedule List II of the federal constitution empowered the state legislative body to enact laws relating to the creation and punishment of offences by Muslims which were against the precepts of Islam as well as to control the propagating of doctrines and beliefs.

He also said that provisions such as Section 16 could be enacted by the state legislative body to protect the sanctity of Islam.

Mubashir, meanwhile, said if Parliament were to enact the impugned provision, it would change the character and origin of the federal constitution, making it inconsistent with the position of the rulers as the heads of Islam.

ZI Publication and Mohd Ezra were given the nod by the Federal Court last year to file a petition to challenge the constitutionality of Section 16 and they had named the Selangor government as respondent.

The Malaysian government and Mais were allowed to intervene in the petition. Mohd Ezra, 31, was detained by officers from the enforcement division of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department on suspicion of committing an offence under Section 16 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment 1995 and was later charged in the Lower Syariah Court.

A five-member Federal Court panel chaired by Court of Appeal president Md Raus Sharif hearing the petition, subsequently reserved their judgment to a date to be fixed.

- Bernama