12/10/2021
RESURGENCE OF RUU355 AND ITS CONSTITUTIONALITY
The Sabah Law Society (SLS) will be hosting a Webinar on Resurgence Of RUU355 And Its Constitutionality on 30th October 2021.
In May 2016, the President of PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang tabled a private members bill to increase the maximum punishment in the Syariah Court to 30 years jail, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the cane. This bill has been called RUU355.
The punishment limit as it stands is 3 years jail, RM5000 fine and 6 strokes of the cane. RUU355 was then also called the Hudud Bill. Although the word Hudud does not appear in the Bill, its proposal came soon after the Kelantan Government had amended the Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 to insert provisions on hudud, qisas and ta’zir offences. However, they could not be implemented due to existing jurisdiction of the Syariah Court under the Syariah Court Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1965 (the “Syariah Court Act”).
The RUU355 engendered controversy at that material time. The then Deputy Prime Minister maintained that the bill was not about Hudud and that it was just about empowering the Syariah Courts.
Since it was tabled for the first reading, there were no further updates. However, the Prime Minister recently announced in Parliament that the Government is currently drafting amendments to the Syariah Court Act to increase the powers of the Syariah Court. He specifically mentioned RUU355 and ensuring that it is more comprehensive to empower the Syariah Court.
The Prime Minister said once RUU355 if finalized, it will be tabled in the Islamic and Civil Law Committee formed by the Rulers Conference. After that, he plans to table in Parliament. The contents of this revised bill have not been made public.
In this talk, we seek to provide a platform to discuss the constitutionality of RUU355 and its relationship with Hudud, if at all.
Details of the webinar are as follows:
CPD Points: 2
Date: 30th October 2021
Time: 10.00am - 12.00pm
Venue: Zoom (Link will be e-mailed separately to attendees)
Fee: Complimentary
Please register at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpcO2orDguGNZTAGJ9u40yrCKEg_bh7i1H
About the Speakers
1. Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram
• Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram was called to the English Bar at Lincoln's Inn in July 1969 and of which he is now an Honorary Bencher. On his return to Malaysia he was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Bar of the West Malaysian High Court. He then practised as an Advocate of the Superior Courts of Malaysia until his elevation as a judge of the Court of Appeal.
• As an Advocate, Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram had a very lucrative and busy practice covering a wide range of areas including many important constitutional, commercial and criminal cases that broke new ground in Malaysian law. Very early in his practice he was lauded for his contribution in the Tun Mustapha trial.
• In 1994, Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram earned the distinction of becoming the first ever member of the Bar in Malaysian history to be appointed directly to the Court of Appeal of Malaysia as a Judge. After his appointment he delivered numerous landmark judgments in the field of labour law, commercial law and constitutional law. Due to his concern for the speedy disposal of cases to reduce the backlog, he often delivered ex tempore judgements even in complex cases.
• In April 2009, he was elevated as a Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia, a position he held until his retirement in February 2010. While on the Bench, he delivered more than 800 Judgements of which many have become leading legal authorities and precedents relied on in Courts throughout the Commonwealth.
• Currently back in legal practice, he has acted as senior counsel in numerous high-profile cases in all level of the judicial hierarchy. Most notably, he has recently been appointed Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor to act on behalf of the Government of Malaysia in, amongst others, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the Sarawak Solar Energy trials.
• Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram has presented papers at numerous Malaysian and International Conferences. He has also acted as arbitrator in several domestic and international arbitrations.
2. Dato’ Malik Imtiaz
• With more than 27 years’ experience as a litigator and reported decisions in a diverse range of practice areas to his credit, he has firmly established himself as a point of reference in dispute resolution. Regularly consulted and briefed as counsel in high value and complex litigation in civil, commercial, administrative and constitutional law matters, he is a familiar presence in the appellate courts, the High Court and the arbitration circuit.
• Dato’ Malik holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Commercial Law with Distinction from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Studies (M.St) in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University with Distinction for which he read as a Chevening Scholar. He was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1994, after having read law at the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
• He was the recipient of the 2009 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Law and Campaigning. He has served as a member of the Bar Council, Malaysia and has been a member of the Penang Pardons Board since 2009.”
3. K. Shanmuga
• Shan is a partner at Kanesalingam & Co, Kuala Lumpur. He is primarily a litigator in corporate and general litigation, media law, and constitutional and administrative law.
• He has acted for numerous persons who say they were wrongly considered as Muslims when in fact professed and practiced Hinduism. He has also acted for mothers who say their children were unlawfully converted to Islam by their ex-husbands. Shan was one of the lead counsel in Indira Gandhi v Religious Department of Perak (2018), where Malaysia’s apex court overturned the conversion certificates of 3 children.
Moderator:
1. Surendra Ananth
• Surendra Ananth operates as a sole proprietor. He holds an LL.B (Hons) degree (First Class) from the National University of Malaysia and a Masters in Studies in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. He was admitted to practice as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in July 2015.
• He appears as lead counsel in various public interest and civil litigation cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court. His portfolio includes both international and domestic arbitrations. Surendra is an emerging opinion leader and contributes regularly to various publications.
• Surendra is a member of the Malaysian Bar Council for the term 2021/2022 and was one of the youngest lawyers to have been elected into the Council. He is currently the Co-Chairperson of the Malaysian Bar Law Reform and Special Areas Committee.”
Attached is the event flyer for your kind attention and reference.
Thank you
