[ms] The Prospect of Community Service Order in the Syariah Court

Abstract

The maximum penalty for syariah criminal offences prescribed in the Syariah courts’ enactment and act in Malaysia are three years imprisonment, RM5,000 and six strokes of whipping. Upon further scrutiny, these sentences do not commensurate with the crime committed which are indeed serious offences. In addition, the Syariah court enactment and act also do not prescribe any other punishment that may be sentenced against syariah criminal offenders in Malaysia.
Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyse the scope of application of community service order based on the court’s jurisdiction and to review the prospects of community service orders in accordance with the perspective of the Syarie Judges. This study has applied a semi-structural interview methodology by interviewing nine Syariah High Court Judges and the Chief Registrar of the Syariah Court in five states of Malaysia. The findings of the study were analyzed using thematic and descriptive methods. The study found that the community service order may be implemented as an optional punishment for the Syariah criminal offences in Malaysia. This is based on the Judges’ beliefs that such a sentence has a bright prospect for implementation and also have a positive impact on offenders. This study is important and serves as a guidance for practitioners of Syariah law in Malaysia for the implementation of such a sentence.