KUALA LUMPUR – A legal practitioner has chastised transgender rights group Justice for Sisters (JFS) after the latter criticised the Johor government’s plans to establish a rehabilitation centre for religious and sexual “deviants.”
Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said that the non-governmental organisation has “no right” to issue a statement that does not respect provisions under the federal constitution.
“It cannot be denied that the state government’s announcement (on the setting up of the rehabilitation centres) specifically involves Muslims in Johor and will not interfere with the non-Muslim community in the state,” Haniff said in a Facebook post today.
“Matters that come under the shariah legal system which only applies to Muslims should not be commented on by non-Muslim parties that do not understand the jurisprudence of Islamic laws.
“A small number of non-Muslim Malaysians with misconceptions of Muslim rights and shariah laws must stop issuing their deviant Islamophobic statements on matters that they have no right to comment on.”
Haniff also took issue with JFS’ claim that the centre will violate laws under the federal constitution, namely Article 5 which safeguards the personal liberty, privacy and dignity of all citizens, as well as Article 8 which protects equality before the law and prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.
“They (JFS) need to get more accurate advice on our laws. It is the state governments’ right to supervise and enact shariah laws. This does not mean that such provisions are against the federal constitution,” he said.
He added that the group had also erred in its claim that the centre will disregard the federal court’s finding that Section 28 of the Selangor Shariah Criminal Offences Enactment which criminalises “sex against the order of nature” was unconstitutional.
“Obviously, enactments in Selangor are not utilised in Johor,” Haniff said, drawing parallels with how the court’s decision in the constitutional challenge brought by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter against the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019 will not affect laws in other states.
“It is also wrong for JFS to urge Suhakam (Malaysian Human Rights Commission) to interfere in the state government’s plans as the commission is guided by the federal constitution which allows state administrations to form shariah laws for Muslims.”
Haniff also cautioned JFS and other similar organisations against issuing statements that could incite the anger of Muslims who might view the claims as an instance of non-Muslims “meddling” in affairs that do not concern them.
Yesterday, JFS said that the centre, announced by Johor’s executive councillor for Islamic affairs Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid, was discriminatory and the detention of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals amounted to torture.
The centre, to be established at a cost of RM400,000, is slated to be operational in July next year. – December 1, 2023