The state government must also improve the position of shariah judges so that they are on par with civil court judges, he was reported by Utusan Malaysia as saying.

Sultan Sallehuddin was speaking when opening the Kedah legislative assembly’s first meeting of its second term.

It was previously reported that seven of the sections contained in the Kedah Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 2014 were found to be similar to some of the provisions of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019 recently struck down by the Federal Court.

The sections include provisions relating to the offences of sodomy, incest, misuse of the halal symbol, consumption of alcohol, and destroying or defacing mosques and suraus.

Since then, the Kedah government has established a committee to strengthen the state’s shariah laws. The state secretary and its legal adviser sit on the committee.