The association’s president Musa Awang said in a statement today that the ruling would have great implications on the country’s shariah legislation, especially for criminal offences under the states’ shariah criminal enactments.

“This means the state legislative bodies do not have the power to enact laws regarding shariah criminal offences if there are similar laws under the Federal law passed by Parliament, even though the offences carried out by an individual professing Islam were against the ‘precepts of Islam’, as stated in List 2 – State List of the Federal Constitution.”

He said the ruling meant it would be difficult for the state legislature to draft laws on shariah offences, as long as the offences were covered under federal law.

Musa added that the court ruling will also open up avenues for parties to challenge other laws in the states’ shariah criminal enactments.

The Federal Court ruling also seems to be “closing the door” on earlier proposals to carry out hudud and qisas laws in the country.

“This is because hudud offences such as theft (sariqah), robbery (hirabah), and qisas offences such as murder (al-qatl) are listed in the Penal Code.”

Earlier today, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat had allowed a declaration by a 35-year-old man that the Selangor state legislature was incompetent to pass a shariah law that makes it an offence to engage in unnatural sex.

The man, whose identity is being withheld on the request of his lawyers, sought to challenge the competency of the Selangor state legislature to enact Section 28 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment.