‘No law amendments needed for setting up of Syariah special courts’
KUALALUMPUR: The setting up of the special courts for marriage, hadhanah ( child custody) and nafkah ( maintenance) under the purview of the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court will not involve any amendment to the existing laws.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said this was because it only required specialised judges and courtrooms.
“The setting up of the special courts may sound absurd in the syariah sector, but it is common in civil court system, such as the setting up of the Special Court for Sexual Crimes Against Children.
“As such, I would like to propose to the Federal Territories Syariah Court to forge a closer cooperation with the Civil Courts to facilitate exchange of expertise between the two courts,” he told reporters after the declaration on the setting up of the special courts for marriage, hadhanah and nafkah at the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court Complex here yesterday.
Also present were Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim and Syariah Judiciary Department directorgeneral Datuk Mukhyuddin Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, Federal Territories Syariah Court chief registrar Muhammad Khairul Nizzam Kassim said 23 staff were needed to operate the three courts.
“With the specialised courts in place, cases involving divorce under Section 47 of the Islamic Family Law ( Federal Territory) Act will be solved four times faster than before,” he said.
Rohani, on the other hand, said the setting up of the special courts would give hope to women, whose divorce, custody or maintenance claim cases had been pending for too long at the syariah courts.
“In conjunction with the Women Empowerment Year this year and the setting up of the special courts to manage cases of divorce, custody and maintenance claims, women will no longer stay stuck in the unsolved issues for long and they will be able to move on to live their lives with their children,” she added. — Bernama