Che Omar Bin Che Soh V PP revisited: The effect of British Rule to the meaning of ‘Islamic Law’ within the Constitutional context of Malaysia
A word may have many meanings. Usually when there is a dispute as regards to the meaning of a word we refer to an authoritative or established dictionary for its meaning. However if the dispute is serious the matter have to be brought before the court, and the court shall decide the meaning of th...
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/52706/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/52706/23/52706.pdf |
| Summary: | A word may have many meanings. Usually when there is a dispute as regards to
the meaning of a word we refer to an authoritative or established dictionary for
its meaning. However if the dispute is serious the matter have to be brought
before the court, and the court shall decide the meaning of the word. In Malaysia,
‘Islam’, ‘Islamic Law’ or ‘Syariah’ have meanings which are generally
understood by the people. However what people generally do not realize is within
the context of Malaysian’s constitution and legal system, ‘Islamic Law’ has been
assigned certain meaning and a defined scope. This has been discussed by the
court in a landmark case of Che Omar bin Che Soh. It is interesting to note that
the court have to reject the true meaning of ‘Islam’ and come up with another
meaning in order to make it suitable for Malaysia. One of the main reasons of this
peculiar situation is the effect of British rule before the Independence which
introduces secularism into the legal system. The paper will deliberate how British
ruler change the landscape of local legal system from Syariah oriented to western
oriented system which inevitably caused the marginalization of Islamic law in the
country. |
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