Abstract
Malaysia is a multiracial country with Islam as the Religion of the Federation. Its Federal Constitution is crafted in a way that Islam - the religion of the Malay majority - occupies special position in the constitution and makes significant presence in public life. But Malaysia is not a full-fledged Islamic state. Secular criminal and civil laws are in force and attempts to introduce Islamic criminal laws (hudūd) were thwarted by the provisions in the constitution itself. While the more conservative Muslim groups view the entrenched position of Islam in the constitution as one of the most important pillars of Malaysian nation, the more liberal groups see it as a hindrance to the creation of a more liberal and progressive Malaysia. This paper aims at analyzing the contestations between the two groups on the implementation of syariah laws and the impacts of these contestations on politics and law in contemporary Malaysia.
Highlights
Malaysia is a Muslim majority country with sizeable multi-racial and multi-religious population
In order to better understand the contestations between Islamic law and human rights in Malaysia, a study on this subject should be framed in the context of communal politics and the history of Malaysia’s constitution-making in pre-independent Malaya
Under this dual legal system, Muslims are subjected to a set of limited Islamic personal and family laws generally known as the syariah laws, the scope of which is defined in the federal constitution
Summary
Malaysia is a Muslim majority country with sizeable multi-racial and multi-religious population. Instead of creating potent forces for an extensive Islamic legal reform along the more liberal lines, the discourse on the incompatibility between syariah laws and western secular conception of human rights and freedom has created strong counter reactions from the more conservative mainstream Muslim groups. They saw it as an attempt to trample on the sanctity of Islam and mobilized popular support to defend the religion. There have been intense legal and political contestations between the two groups, each trying to influence government policies and court decisions in their favour
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