The Kelantan government can implement the hudud law without having the Federal Constitution amended if it confines itself to the offences under the State List, said former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad.

He said the offences in List II (State List) of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution were adultery; accusing someone of adultery; consuming intoxicating drinks and apostasy.

"However, Parliament has to first amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 to enable the state legislative body to do so.

"That law is under the State List, applicable only for Muslims and administered by the Shariah Court," he said in his keynote address at a seminar on 'Hudud Implementation in Malaysia: History and the Future' at the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque, Putrajaya today.

The Kelantan State Assembly had on March 19 this year unanimously passed the Shariah Criminal Code II (1993) 2015 bill which is only applicable to Muslims when it is enforced.

Abdul Hamid said it might be a way out for the Kelantan government, but cautioned that fresh problems could arise, in legal and administrative terms, besides the need for federal government approval.

This, he said, was because the law which imposed the hudud penalty for criminal offences under federal jurisdiction only on Muslims was null and void because it breached the constitution.

Abdul Hamid said the discussion on hudud had caused many quarters to be confused between the law and its implementation.

He said raising issues on its implementation was necessary and that by doing so, it did not mean that the person was against hudud law.

"I am aware that my speech may disappoint some people, but if they want to listen to my honest view on the matter in terms of the constitution and the law, that is it," he added.

– Bernama