23
JANUARY 2015
PRESS
STATEMENT
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 comprising
Justices Mohd Hishamudin Yunus, Aziah Ali and Lim Yee Lan on the Negri 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.
Foremost,
I am glad that the honourable judge in his judgment affirmed that the Federal
Constitution is the Supreme law of the Federation as declared in Article 4(1)
and that the guarantee of fundamental liberties of all Malaysians takes precedence
over all State laws, including Islamic laws passed by State legislatures.
Equally
significant is the affirmation by Justice Mohd Hishamudin of the 1988 decision
of the Supreme Court in Che Omar bin Che Soh, which clearly stated that
Malaysia is a secular country in that ‘it was the intention of the Federal
Constitution that the word ‘Islam’ in Art 3(1) be given a restrictive meaning’.
What this means is 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. I hope that
they will take the time to read this very sound judgment and give due respect
to the pronouncement of the court on this matter. They would do a great service
to all Malaysians if they would try to understand the provisions of the Federal
Constitution so that they do not embarrass themselves by giving their own erroneous
interpretations of this supreme law of the land.
The substance
of this case is that Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution is the overriding
provision, and not Article 3(1). We are heartened by this judgment and we hope
that we will continue to served by judges who are as faithful to their oaths of
office as this Court of Appeal panel headed by Justice Mohd Hishamudin Yunus.
BARU
BIAN
ADUN
N70 BA’ KELALAN/
CHAIRMAN,
PKR SARAWAK
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