Retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said the [amended RUU355] Bill would be constitutional if the crimes it addressed did not overlap with matters included in the Federal List, including murder, rape, robbery and theft.

Retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof speaking at a lecture on the legality of the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355). Pic taken from The Star Online.
PETALING JAYA: Amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) are constitutional, but the proposed upper limits of its punishments are too high, warns retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.
He said attempting to set higher punishments through the Syariah courts would destroy the precepts that these courts were of limited power.
“Can it be done? Yes. Should it be done? No, I believe the upper limits are simply too high,” he said during a lecture on the legality of the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355). Read more