Does Article 11 aim to reduce the power of the Sultans and religious authorities?
Article 11 has the utmost respect for the Sultans as constitutional monarchs and for the religious authorities who are subject to the Federal Constitution and are bound to follow the law. 13. Does Article 11 aim to reduce the status of Syariah Court? No. What we advocate has been the position in Malaysia since independence and will not reduce the Syariah Court’s scope within the Federal Constitution’s existing restrictions. Article 11 recommends that, in any case where one party to a dispute does not profess Islam, or where the State Legislative Assembly has not expressly legislated on the subject matter of the dispute, the civil courts must be the ultimate decision-maker. If all parties to a dispute profess Islam, and the subject matter of the dispute is one of purely Islamic personal law which has been legislated upon, then the civil courts can rightly decline to interfere with a dispute in the Syariah Court. The current situation is problematic because individuals who do not profess
