Only Muslims can be Syarie lawyers as they are expected to be virtuous and are answerable to God on judgement day, the High Court heard on Friday.
These are values that a Syarie lawyer must subscribe to to be effective, said Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council's lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah.
"Syarie lawyers are expected to be virtuous. They are expected to model their conduct on Prophet Muhammad.
On judgment day, they have to answer to God," he said.
Sulaiman said that a Syarie lawyer has to subscribe to these values and belief.
"If the lawyer appearing before a Syariah court does not carry those values and beliefs, the lawyer will not be able to effectively carry out his or her role," he argued Friday.
As such, the religious council was entitled to set conditions, including the requirement for Muslims to be Syarie lawyers.
And, he submitted, only the Syariah Court had the jurisdiction to take action against Muslim lawyers if they did not follow proper procedure or ethics.
In her judicial review application, Victoria Jayaseelee Martin, 49, is challenging the requirement that a Syarie lawyer in Kuala Lumpur must be a Muslim.
In her affidavit, Victoria said she applied to be admitted as a Syarie lawyer in Kuala Lumpur in February, 2006.
In asking the court to take judicial notice over the National Fatwa Council's committee discussion last December, Sulaiman said it has stated that a Syarie lawyer, among others, must master the Quran and have faith in Allah.
"It is the crucial requirement to be a Syarie lawyer. If non-Muslims are allowed to be appointed as Syarie lawyers, it will give them space to manage the affairs of the Muslims. This situation will create confusion among the Muslims," he said.
Sulaiman said Victoria was constitutionally not prohibited to practise in any court in Malaysia but she just had to comply with the requirement if she want to be a Syarie practitioner.
Senior Federal Counsel Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari, who represented the Attorney-Generals Chambers, said it was necessary for only Muslims to be Syarie lawyers to avoid any misinterpretation of Quranic verses in their execution of duties.
"Basically, it is to administer matters related to the affairs of the Muslims in a proper way," he added.
On the other hand, Victoria’s lawyer Ranjit Singh argued that his client was entitled to practise her profession at the Syariah Court without any discrimination to her religion.
He said Victoria had sufficient knowledge of Islamic law and the council should allow her to sit for the examination for admission to practise in the Syariah court.
Ranjit asked the court to take judicial notice that there was a precedent where a non-Muslim had been allowed to practise as a Syarie lawyer in Selangor since 1997.
High Court judge Justice Rohana Yusuf set March 17 to deliver her decision on the test case whether a non-Muslim can practise as a Syarie lawyer.
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