KUANTAN: Sultan of Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah hopes his proposal for the state government to establish a syariah supreme court will be tabled in the state legislative assembly sitting.
He said having a syariah supreme court as its apex court will help to further strengthen syariah laws in the state, and serve as an important step for the justice, and welfare of the ummah.
"I believe it is time for the syariah courts in Pahang to be expanded to four levels. After the syariah appeal court, another additional level has to be established and named as the syariah supreme court which will hear, and review appeals from the syariah appeal court.
"The move is similar to the saying 'seperti menarik rambut dalam tepung, rambut jangan putus, tepung jangan berselerak'(when doing things, it has to be done carefully and fairly) to ensure justice is served meticulously.
"I hope the Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Muip), state Legal Advisor's Office and state Syariah Judiciary Department can work closely towards drafting and amending the law so that the proposal can be tabled at the state assembly sitting at the end of this year or early next year," he said in his speech during Muip's 193rd meeting here today.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said the syariah law practised in Pahang has to be reviewed and improved periodically as well as executed consistently.
"Changes have to be embraced in line with current developments and have to be able to cope with the latest issues within the society," he said.
Pahang currently has three levels of syariah courts namely lower, high and appeal court.
Meanwhile, Al-Sultan Abdullah issued a strict warning to those accredited certificates to teach (Islamic) religion across Pahang saying they should not turn mosques into a political stage.
"Mosques should serve as a place for unity of Muslims...not a space to spread hatred or defamation. We are all responsible for ensuring mosques remain a peaceful and safe place for everyone, regardless of their background and political beliefs.
"Never use religion as a tool to justify our actions and achieve certain goals. Those authorised to teach should use the opportunity to share their knowledge honestly.
"Those who abuse their credentials(teaching) will result in a serious impact not only to individuals but also to society.
"To safeguard the purpose of awarding the teaching certificate, those who abuse them can have their accreditation revoked," he said.
Meanwhile, Al-Sultan Abdullah urged the Pahang Islamic Religious Department (Jaip), Mufti's Department and the authorities to take proactive action to prevent the community from deviant teachings.
"Prevention and enforcement needs to be empowered to protect the community from teachings that mislead the ummah.
"It is important for more awareness programmes involving various layers of the society so that everyone from children to the professional groups will be aware of the consequences resulting from teachings against Islam," he said, adding deviant teachings are a serious threat that must not be taken lightly.
Also present were Muip president Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, Muip deputy president Tengku Panglima Raja Brig Gen Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.