PUTRAJAYA will form special shariah court with powers to force errant husbands to pay up alimony (nafkah) owed to their ex-wives in all Federal Territories, said Islamic Affairs Minister Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

Islamic law is a state matter and Putrajaya hopes this court will serve as an example for other states, he added.

“There will be a special court to hear nafkah and hadhanah (child custody rights) because we have received so many complaints from wives who are divorced and they do not get their rights.

“So much suffering. This is the way forward to deal with this,” Mujahid said in a recent interview.

“This new special court will have the power to freeze the assets of men who don’t pay alimony,” he told a media briefing on his ministry’s one year achievements since Pakatan Harapan took power.

Muslim welfare groups have long complained of inefficiencies in the shariah court system as their administration is under the purview of individual states and thus not streamlined according to one standard.

One of the most common complaints is how the courts are toothless when come to helping divorced Muslim women claim alimony payments from their ex-husbands. This is because unlike civil courts which hear civil divorce cases, shariah courts have no power to enforce orders for errant Muslim husbands.

Mujahid said the establishment of the special courts are part of Putrajaya’s efforts to apply the best Islamic affairs and shariah law policies at the three federal territories in Malaysia as a standard for other states.

For the first time in the country, shariah lawyers operating in the federal territories will also be regulated in terms of licensing, fees and expertise, said Mujahid.

These new laws are expected to come into force by the middle to end of the year once they are passed at the Parliament’s July or October sitting.

While the federal government does not have jurisdiction over Islamic administration in individual states, Mujahid said Putrajaya would set a benchmark for others to hopefully follow suit.

“We will explain to each state that is interested in our methods, the ways to go about implementing the same thing at their level. We will set the standard and the benchmark so that others can follow,”

Under the revamp, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will also have the power to regulate tahfiz, or religious schools, and shut down those which are problematic.

The control and supervision of all religious schools and tahfiz in the federal territories will be possible after the ministry passed the Islamic Laws Administration Act (Federal Territories) in Parliament recently.

“This law was not present in the past and when there are problems at tahfiz schools we had no power to intervene. Now we have the power to do so, to shut down tahfiz schools that have so many problems.”

Mujahid said he will use the regular meetings the ministry has with state religious authorities to discuss and promote these standards so that they can be implemented nationwide.

“Every three months there is a meeting between the ministry and the chairman of all state religious councils where we discuss how to streamline (our laws and practices),” he said.

Maintaining a good relationship with the Malay rulers and governors was also crucial, as Putrajaya seeks to keep the lines of communication open.

“In a year I have met almost all the Malay rulers and the governors and expressed our wish to continue this good working relationship,” he said. – May 2, 2019.