Fiqh Forensic Module Development For Syariah Officers In Malaysian Syariah Court’s Criminal Jurisdiction

The Department of Syariah Judiciary Malaysia (JKSM) released Arahan Amalan no. 4
of 2020 on 21 December 2020. This Practice Direction pertains to the admission of
forensic evidence in the Syariah Court, and it is deficient in both substantive and
procedural elements. In addition, the Syariah Court lacks exhaustive guidelines or
references pertaining to forensic evidence. This is exacerbated by Syariah officials
who lack both curriculum and training in dealing with such evidence. As a result,
there is a lack of understanding, aptitude, and competency in dealing with forensic
evidence and expert testimony. Consequently, there is no legal interpretation of the
legislative provisions regarding expert evidence, exhibits and forensic evidence have
been handled negligently, qarinah evidence is stigmatised, and the readiness to accept
scientific evidence is minimal. These problems need a ‗remedy‘ to prevent worsening.
As a result, the primary goal of this qualitative study is to develop the ‗remedy‘. The
purpose of this study was to analyse the challenges that led to the necessity for the
development of the ―Fiqh Forensic module‖, examine the module‘s content based on
the selected sources, and produce a ―Fiqh Forensic module‖ for Syariah officers in
Syariah Court. Documents from both primary and secondary sources have been
utilised as data in this study. The data were analysed utilizing qualitative content
analysis and inductive reasoning. The results of this study indicated that Malaysia
needs a comprehensive academic module on forensic science within the parameters of
Syariah law. This matched the findings of numerous earlier researches. This study has
also identified the six essential topics that must be covered in the ―Fiqh Forensic
module‖, which area, first, ―Introduction of Fiqh Forensic‖; second, ―Admissibility of
Forensic Science as Evidence and its Application‖; third, ―Qualifications and
Credibility of Forensic Experts in Malaysia from the Perspective of Islamic
Jurisprudence and Syariah Law‖; fourth, ―Crime Scene Management and Procedures
for Spying, Investigating, Raiding, and Arresting a Suspect‖; fifth, ―Handling of
Scientific Evidence and its Management‖, and sixth, ―Evidence Practices and
Procedures in Syariah Courts, as well as the Opinion of Forensic Experts‖. Two
experts in the subject have examined and validated the module‘s content. The ―Fiqh
Forensic module‖ was constructed utilising the ―Sidek‘s Module Development
Model‖. The coefficient for the content validity of the Fiqh Forensic module is 0.92.
This study attained its objectives and answered its research questions about the ―Fiqh
Forensic module‖. Additional research is needed to broaden the scope of the study.
This includes, but is not limited to, examining forensic components in traditional
Islamic legal and judicial writing, exploring each essential component of Fiqh
Forensic theory, and establishing research modules with assessments of validity,
reliability, and efficacy.