Sarawak PKR today applauded the decision of the Appeal Court in the Negeri Sembilan transgender case which affirmed the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

 

State party chief Baru Bian said today the decision by the bench comprising Mohd Hishamudin Yunus, Aziah Ali, and Lim Yee Lan, gave them reaon to be optimistic.

 

“After a disappointing decision from the Federal Court in the appeal by the Catholic Church on the ‘Allah’ matter, the judgment from the Court of Appeal on the Negeri Sembilan Syariah case gives us reason to be hopeful.

 

“The judgment handed down in this case is one written by a judge who is conscious of his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” Bian said in a statement.

 

The appellate judgment affirmed the decision of the High Court which was heard on October 11, 2012 and the full grounds was released on January 2, 2015.

 

The High Court decision ruled that section 66 of the Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992 (Negeri Sembilan) (Section 66) was void by reason of being inconsistent with the Articles of the Federal constitution namely Article 5(1), Article 8(1), Article 8(2), Article 9(2), and Article 10 (1) (a).

 

Bian, who is the state assemblyperson for Ba’Kelalan, commended the bench for affirming “that the guarantee of fundamental liberties of all Malaysians takes precedence over all state laws, including Islamic laws passed by state legislatures”.

 

‘Leaders hoodwinking us on syariah law’s supremacy’

 

He praised as “significant” Mohd Hishamudin’s citing of the 1988 decision of the Supreme Court in Che Omar bin Che Soh, which he said clearly stated Malaysia as a secular country.

 

“It was the intention of the Federal Constitution that the word ‘Islam’ in Article 3(1) be given a restrictive meaning,” he argued.

 

Bian ( right ), who is also a lawyer, said that what that meant was that Malaysia “is not an Islamic country and the Syariah is not the supreme law of the land, no matter how much the present and past prime ministers, members of the BN government and the various Islamic authorities wish it to be and how often they try to hoodwink Malaysians that it is”.

 

He hoped that the leaders would take time to read the judgment and give due respect to the court decision.

 

“They would do a great service to all Malaysians if they would try to understand the provisions of the Federal Constitution so that they did not embarrass themselves by giving their own erroneous interpretations of this supreme law of the land.

 

“We are heartened by this judgment and we hope that we will continue to be served by judges who are as faithful to their oaths of office as this Court of Appeal panel headed by Justice Mohd Hishamudin Yunus,” said Bian.