NOVEMBER 2 — I notice heightened criticisms in the past week against the Mufti (Federal Territories) Bill 2024 (the Bill).
I reckon the Bill will be read a second time next week.
In Do not create doubts among Muslim and non-Muslim communities over Mufti (FT) Bill, I did a comparison of the pertinent provisions of the Bill and the State of Sabah Fatwa Enactment 2004 and said that the provisions in the Bill have been in existence as Sabah State law since 2004.
So, why the hue and cry over the Bill?
Let’s now do a comparison between the Bill and Part III of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 (Act 505).
| Mufti (Federal Territories) Bill 2024 | Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 |
| Clause 1. Application (2) This Act shall apply to the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. | Section 1. Application (1) This Act may be cited as the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 and applies only to the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan. |
| Clause 3. Mufti and Deputy Mufti (1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may, on the advice of the Minister after consulting the Majlis, appoint a Mufti and such number of Deputy Mufti for the Federal Territories. (2) A person is qualified to be a Mufti or a Deputy Mufti if— (a) he is a citizen of Malaysia; (b) he is an Ahli Sunah Waljamaah; and (c) he has expertise in Islamic Law. (3) The appointment of the Mufti and the Deputy Mufti shall be published in the Gazette. (4) For the purposes of this section, “Ahli Sunah Waljamaah” means any person who upholds to the Quran and Sunah— (a) in respect of akidah, by following the principles sourced from al-Asyairah and al-Maturidiyah stream; (b) in respect of syariah, by following the Mazhab Syafie or in certain circumstances follow any one of the Mazhab Hanafi, Maliki or Hanbali or legal ijtihad which has been decided by the Fatwa Committee; and (c) in respect of sufism, by following the principles brought by Imam Junaid al-Baghdadi and Imam al-Ghazali. | Section 32. Appointment of Mufti and Deputy Mufti (1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may, on the advice of the Minister, after consulting the Majlis, appoint fit and proper persons to be the Mufti and the Deputy Mufti for the Federal Territories. Section 39. Authorities to be followed (1) In issuing any fatwa under section 34, or certifying any opinion under section 38, the Mufti shall ordinarily follow the accepted views (qaul muktamad) of the Mazhab Syafie. (2) If the Mufti considers that following the qaul muktamad of the Mazhab Syafie will lead to a situation which is repugnant to public interest, the Mufti may follow the qaul muktamad of the Mazhab Hanafi, Maliki or Hanbali. (3) If the Mufti considers that none of the qaul muktamad of the four Mazhabs may be followed without leading to a situation which is repugnant to public interest, the Mufti may then resolve the question according to his own judgment without being bound by the qaul muktamad of any of the four Mazhabs. |
| Clause 4. Functions of Mufti and Deputy Mufti (1) The Mufti shall aid and advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in respect of all matters of Islamic Law, and in all such matters shall be the chief authority in the Federal Territories after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, except where otherwise provided in this Act. | Section 33. Authority of Mufti The Mufti shall aid and advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in respect of all matters of Islamic Law, and in all such matters shall be the chief authority in the Federal Territories after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, except where otherwise provided in this Act |
| Clause 10. Procedure of issuing fatwa (1) Mufti may, before making and issuing any fatwa— (a) direct any person to carry out a study or research relating to the issue or question concerned; (b) summon any relevant person to provide an explanation in relation to the study or research which has been carried out or in relation to the issue or questions raised; and (c) direct the person who has carried out the study or research to prepare a fatwa research paper. (2) If the Mufti finds that a fatwa needs to be issued pertaining to the issue or question, the Mufti shall direct a meeting of the Fatwa Committee to be summoned for the purpose of discussing the proposed fatwa. (3) After the proposed fatwa is approved by the Fatwa Committee, the Mufti shall make a recommendation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his assent for the publication of the fatwa in the Gazette. (4) The fatwa which has been assented by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be published in the Gazette. (5) The procedure of issuing fatwa under this section shall be applicable for fatwa issued under sections 13 and 14 of this Act. (6) Any other ruling of Islamic Law which is not published in the Gazette, shall remain to be respected and be a guidance of Islamic Law for Muslims in the Federal Territories. | Section 34. Fatwa (1) The Mufti shall, on the direction of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and may, on his own initiative or on the request of any person made by letter addressed to the Mufti, make and publish in the Gazette, a fatwa or ruling on any unsettled or controversial question of or relating to Islamic Law. Section 37. The Islamic Legal Consultative Committee (5) Whenever the Mufti proposes to make a fatwa under section 34 he shall call a meeting of the ([Islamic Legal Consultative] Committee for the purpose of discussing the proposed fatwa. (6) Before the Mufti makes a fatwa, he may cause such studies or research to be conducted as he may direct and a working paper prepared.
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| Clause 11. Fatwa to be binding and recognised A fatwa shall— (a) be binding on every Muslim in the Federal Territories as his religious teachings and shall be his religious duty to abide by and uphold to the fatwa; and (b) be recognised by any court in respect of all matters stated in the fatwa. | Section 34. Fatwa (2) No statement made by the Mufti shall be taken to be a fatwa unless and until it is published in the Gazette pursuant to subsection (1). (3) Upon publication in the Gazette, a fatwa shall be binding on every Muslim resident in the Federal Territories as a dictate of his religion and it shall be his religious duty to abide by and uphold the fatwa, unless he is permitted by Islamic Law to depart from the fatwa in matters of personal observance, belief, or opinion. (4) A fatwa shall be recognised by all Courts in the Federal Territories as authoritative of all matters laid down therein. |
| Clause 15. Opinion of Mufti (1) The court may, if any question on Islamic Law needs to be decided, request for the opinion of the Mufti in writing. (2) The opinion of the Mufti may be served as a guidance to the court but shall not be binding. (3) The Mufti shall not be summoned to give an opinion or evidence relating to Islamic Law in any court. | Section 38. Request for opinion from the Mufti Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, the Mufti shall not be liable to be summoned to any civil court or Syariah Court to give opinion or evidence relating to Islamic Law, but if in any court other than a Syariah Court any question of Islamic Law calls for a decision, that court may request the opinion of the Mufti on the question, and the Mufti may certify his opinion to the requesting court. |
As can be seen above, the Bill proposes to reenact Part III of Act 505 that will be deleted by Clause 10 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2024.
The Bill cannot be read in isolation. It must be read with Clause 10 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2024.
The law on the institution of the mufti and fatwa in the Federal Territories has been provided by federal law.
So, again, why the hue and cry over the Bill?
The Bill reenacts existing law.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
