KUALA LUMPUR, 11 March 2009: Senada, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for Muslim women, is preparing an action plan to expedite the process of streamlining syariah laws in Malaysia.
Its chairperson Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said Senada’s secretariat was in the process of getting feedback on the matter and would submit their findings to the authorities soon for further action to be taken.
Shahrizat said complaints from Muslim women that they were not being treated fairly under syariah laws was not because of the religion’s teachings but could be because of differences in implementation, as matters concerning Islam came under the jurisdiction of the states.
“We would like there to be uniformity in the laws, regulations and policies for the protection of Muslim women,” she told reporters after holding a dialogue session on the matter with representatives of the syariah judiciary at the federal and state levels, NGOs, and various individuals.
The dialogue was held in conjunction with Senada’s one-day convention on the issue today.
Shahrizat is also a special adviser to the Prime Minister on women’s affairs. — Bernama
khairil z says
Bad news. Streamlining syariah laws between different states in Malaysia means that we are gonna have less power at shaping syariah laws, which is completely against the spirit of the Federal Constitution that maintains Islam as a matter under the state govt’s jurisdiction.