Wednesday April 18, 2012

Kedah makes fatwa absolute

ALOR SETAR: Any fatwa made in Kedah by the state mufti or Fatwa Committee cannot be challenged following an amendment to an existing law and approved by the state assembly here.

The amendment in the Mufti and Fatwa (Kedah Darul Aman) Enactment 2008 provides that a fatwa decided by the mufti or the committee, whether gazetted or not, cannot be challenged, appealed, reviewed, denied or questioned in any civil court or syariah court.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak tabled the amendment, which was unanimously passed by the House yesterday.

He said the new provision was to clarify the membership of the Fatwa Committee and to give conclusiveness to any fatwa decided by the panel or the mufti.

Met by reporters after the sitting, Azizan said the insertion of Section 22A (in the enactment) was made to avoid external disputes.

He said with the amendment, any problems regarding a fatwa should be referred back to the Fatwa Committee and not dragged to court.

“I believe Kedah is the first state to make such an amendment,” the mentri besar said.

The Bill was among amendments passed by the assembly.

The House also passed a Bill to apply for RM19.049mil from the Consolidated Fund for additional expenditure for services for 2012.

The House adjourned sine die.

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