Court of Appeal judge Yaacob Sam had advised trial judges in the lower courts to refrain from raising religious factors in sentencing Muslims.
Bar president Salim Bashir said judges had wide latitudes to consider all information before pronouncing punishments. “No one should be punished severely or conversely shown leniency based on emotions or religious teachings,” he added.Retired Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram said the Malaysian legal system is secular and governed by laws enacted by Parliament.
“What if he were of a different faith? Are we going to address him in terms of his personal religion? The judge also reprimanded the accused for failing to uphold the trust and responsibility given to him to safeguard the country’s entry/exit points by releasing foreign nationals detained at KLIA. He said all accused persons must be treated equally in the eyes of the law in accordance with Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.