KUALA LUMPUR: Pas Selangor has spoken out against the death threats made against lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid, whose legal challenge led to 16 provisions of Kelantan's shariah criminal code enactment being declared unconstitutional.
Its deputy commissioner Shafie Ngah said such acts go against Islamic values and ethics in addition to violating the country's laws.
"Death threats against Nik Elin Zurina, if proven, are extreme acts that not only violate Islamic morals and ethics but also violate the laws of the country, even if done in the name of defending state government authority and Shariah law."
As such, Shafie said, such matters should not be taken lightly and called for police to take prompt action and file charges against culprits in court.
"Pas Selangor hopes that the police will expedite a comprehensive investigation from all aspects and that the Attorney-General's Chambers will promptly file charges in court if there is sufficient evidence," he said in a statement.
He added that since the beginning of Nik Elin's petition filing to challenge the validity of 18 Shariah criminal offence provisions in Kelantan on Oct 13, 2022, Pas has only driven the issue based on facts and assessments of the potential impacts.
"Pas also voices its objection to the challenge in the spirit of defending the state government's authority over the Islamic religious orders practised thus far, and stands in solidarity with the legal team, non-governmental organisations, and the public through peaceful gatherings, without disturbing public peace and damaging property."
During an exclusive interview on the New Straits Times' Beyond the Headlines podcast, Nik Elin said that she had received several death threats over her constitutional challenge to provisions under Kelantan Syariah law.
Nik Elin said she filed three police reports regarding these threats.
Kuala Lumpur Police Chief, Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid on Wednesday (Feb 14) said the police identified the owner of three social media accounts believed to have threatened lawyer Nik Elin.
He added that three investigation papers were opened regarding the threats, including one that had been handed over to the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) for further action.
On Friday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said police have received two more reports in connection with death threats against the lawyer.
On Feb 9, a nine-member panel of the Federal Court, led by Tengku Maimun, ruled that 16 out of 18 provisions under the Kelantan Syariah criminal enactment were unconstitutional.
The 16 provisions nullified by the court in an 8-1 decision were sections 11, 14, 16, 17, 31, 34, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47 and 48.
Tengku Maimun, who delivered the majority judgment, said the essence of these provisions were matters under the federal list, which only the nation's Parliament had the power to legislate.
The ruling was made following a petition filed in 2021 by Nik Elin and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman, also a lawyer.