Jurisdictional Conflict Between Syariah and Civil Laws In Iki Putra Case: The Way Forward for Malaysian Legal System

The existence of Syariah and civil laws that operate side by side in Malaysian legal system has much to do with the historical development of this country, starting from ancient Malay/Islam customary laws until the introduction of English laws during the colonization era. Against this backdrop, this article aims to analyse the conflict of jurisdictions between Syariah and civil laws in Malaysia by focusing on the Iki Putra case. At the onset, this article examines the general overview of the Syariahcivil laws jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia including the impacts of the amendment on Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution. This is followed by a special analysis on the Iki Putra case particularly on the jurisdictional conflict between the provisions in Syariah criminal code of the State of Selangor and the Penal Code which lies under the federal law. This article uses qualitative methods through document analysis of books, journal articles, newspaper articles, court cases and other internet sources related to Syariah-civil laws jurisdictional conflict in Malaysia and the Iki Putra case. The study in this article found that, despite does not totally stop the jurisdictional conflict between the Syariah and civil laws, the inclusion of Article 121 (1A) in the Federal Constitution that highlights the exclusive jurisdiction of Syariah court have brought some improvements to the application of Syariah law in Malaysia. The Iki Putra case is an example that exemplified this scenario. Nonetheless, based on this case, this article believes that there is always a way forward for the effort to harmonise the Syariah and civil laws in the Malaysian legal system.