Malaysian Federalism: Islam, State Jurisdiction, and Criminal Law

Abstract

This chapter examines how Malaysia's federal distribution of powers shapes the relationship between secular and religious law. While criminal law falls under exclusive federal jurisdiction, the regulation of religion is a matter for the states. In Nik Elin v Kelantan, the Federal Court of Malaysia held that this division of legislative powers prevents the establishment of a system of Islamic criminal law by either level of government. The case illustrates how the Malaysian Constitution constrains efforts to expand the reach of Islamic law—not through a commitment to secularism, but through the structural logic of federalism. This chapter demonstrates how federalism structurally limits the ‘Islamisation’ of Malaysia. It sheds light on the constitutional mechanisms that define and confine religious authority in the country and offers a distinctive perspective on how federalism operates in plural legal systems.