Syariah courts need to be careful about exposing case proceedings: Sultan Nazrin (Updated)

IPOH: The syariah courts need to be attentive and careful on the extent of exposing case proceedings to the general public in keeping with the requirement in Islam for a person not to be publicly humiliated.
The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah said the aspect of protecting an individual's honour by not smearing his name was much stressed upon in Islam and was also a component of justice.
"In the syariah court proceedings, especially involving family and personal issues, it must be ensured that the good name of the family members, parents and children be protected from being sensationalised.
"Noble values with the focus on rationality, wisdom, good manners and order enjoined by the religion should always be portrayed through actions taken in the name of Islam."
The sultan said this at the presentation of letters of appointment to 22 members of the Perak Religious Affairs and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk), nine members of the State Fatwa Committee and 10 syariah judges, here, today.
On another note, Sultan Nazrin said the assets and wealth of Muslims in this country were less than that owned by non-Muslims.
"The situation is even more worrying as I have been informed that an estimated RM60 billion worth of assets owned by Muslims are non-productive, are in bank accounts and in the form of unclaimed insurance, besides assets that have been frozen because of faraid (distribution of estate) issues following the death of the asset owners,” he said.
In this regard, the sultan was hopeful that MAIPk could actively work at resolving these problems to prevent a worsening situation.
"MAIPK together with the Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk), mosques, surau, government and private agencies, and the media should organise programmes on a big scale to educate Muslims on the matter,” he said.
Sultan Nazrin also said that more customer-friendly method of collecting zakat (tithe) be sought, besides ensuring effective distribution of zakat and continuously exploring efforts to eradicate poverty.
"There should be a more innovative aid module, which could free the zakat recipients from the clutches of poverty and transform them into zakat contributors instead,” he said.
At the ceremony, Sultan Nazrin also received, on behalf on MAIPk, cheques for business zakat contributions from a number of individuals and agencies, with the amounts totalling RM2.68 million.
The sultan also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between MAIPk and the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) on wakaf (endowment) funds. — Bernama