No restrictions on women being appointed as shariah judges in Selangor

The Selangor government has never placed any restrictions on women being appointed as shariah judges as accused by certain quarters, Selangor Islamic Religious Council chairman Datuk Setia Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said.

Instead, he said the fatwa (edict) issued by the Selangor Fatwa Council Committee during its meeting on June 26-27, 2006, had only listed certain limits and scopes, which among others stated that women must not be appointed as shariah judges in cases involving hudud and qisas.

"That means women shariah judges can still be appointed for Mal (non-criminal) cases, such as involving family property, marital issues and faraid determination," he said in a statement Friday.

Mohamad Adzib said this in response to Wanita UMNO chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's remark on Wednesday urging state fatwa councils to reassess their decisions on the appointment of women shariah judges.

Shahrizat was referring to a statement by chief syarie judge Tan Sri Dr Ibrahim Lembut, who reportedly said that inconsistency in decisions by state fatwa councils despite the ruling of the National Fatwa Council, had hindered the appointment of women judges.