Hamid Ismail
KOTA KINABALU: The post of Sabah Chief Syarie Prosecutor has been vacant since April last year.
Sabah PAS Head of Legal Unit, Hamid Ismail, urged the new state government to expedite the appointment because its absence will have adverse legal effect on the criminal prosecution of syariah offences throughout Sabah.
Hamid pointed out that Section 181 of the Syariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2004 states that the Chief Syarie Prosecutor shall have the control and direction of all criminal prosecutions and proceedings under the enactment. Meanwhile Section 30(2) of the Syariah Courts Enactment 2004 provides that the Chief Syarie Prosecutor shall have power exercisable at his discretion to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceeding for an offence before any Syariah court. In simple words, all criminal prosecutions for Syariah offences in the syariah court, since the vacancy of that post, is unlawful and illegal.
In the absence of a Chief Syarie Prosecutor, he said there is no one in the prosecution unit of Sabah Islamic Affairs Department (JHEAINS) who has the power to institute or conduct any criminal proceeding in the syariah courts.