PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has caused another stir. After claiming that Malaysia’s process of pardoning a criminal is not in line with Islamic teachings, Hadi now says that there is no “discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA)”  in Islam. 

The law on DNAA can be seen in section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). The section deals specifically with the situation where the public prosecutor (PP) or the prosecuting officer (PO) declines to prosecute any further with the trial which is already ongoing in court. It operates at any stage of a trial, and it is invoked by the PP.

When invoked, section 254(3) provides that any discharge granted by the court is a DNAA.

The law can also be seen in section 103(1) and (2) of the state enactments on Syariah Criminal Procedure, which replicate section 254(2) and (3) CPC.

If there is no DNAA in Islam, section 103 would not have been part of the states’ shariah enactment, including state enactments of Terengganu and Kelantan.

Hadi’s statement on DNAA was made in parliament in answer to Shahidan Kassim who interjected Hadi’s speech with the question.

Shahidan baited Hadi. The latter fell for it hook line and sinker. Most telling, however, Hadi has discredited the works of local Islamic scholars on the shariah enactments. – September 14, 2023.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.