Lawyer who challenged Kelantan's syariah laws gets death threats

Federal court’s annulment of some Islamic criminal laws enacted by state causes uproar

- Zunaira Saieed

KUALA LUMPUR - Lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid has been receiving online death threats after Malaysia's apex Federal Court on Feb 9 supported her legal challenge to annul 16 provisions of Islamic criminal laws enacted by Kelantan state.

The court's eight-to-one majority decision raised an uproar among Malay-Muslim opposition parties and conservative Muslims, who have painted the move as an interference in how Islamic law is carried out in Malaysian states.

But government officials, including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, have said the invalidated provisions are already covered by federal laws.

Malaysia's legal system allows state legislatures to enact laws only when they are not covered by the federal Parliament, they said.

Ms Nik Elin made three police reports in 2023 when the case started attracting attention from her critics, and she received threats on social media in the same year.

"I have lost count of how many threats there have been because these individuals do not understand," she told the New Straits Times daily on Feb 10.

"If only they would take the time to read and understand the laws and the reasons behind the challenge, they would understand." Ms Nik Elin and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman - both Kelantanese - challenged the constitutionality of 18 provisions in Kelantan's Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019.