Apostasy is treated as a grave crime in Islam and classified as hudud offences.

Discuss whether
apostasy is regarded as an offence under various state Islamic criminal offences Enactment/Act in
Malaysia. if yes, explain the similarity/differences of the punishment under Islamic law and those
statutes.

1. Kelantan State Enactment-Syariah Criminal Code (II) (1993) 2015

Section 5

The Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 classifies “intidah” and “riddah” as voluntary or deliberate
pronouncements or utterances of words that violate a Muslim’s creed, known has aqidah.

These involve challenges to fundamental aspects of the Islamic faith of every Muslim,
including Rukun Islam (Pillars of Islam), Rukun Iman (Pillars of Faith) and the distinction between halal
and haram. According to the report, the enactment does not define what would constitute a violation
of Rukun Islam or Rukun Iman. Under the proposed legislation, the immediate punishment for such
an offence is imprisonment over a period to be determined by the Syariah Court “for the purpose of
repentance.” if the offender fails to repent, the punishment may extend to execution. “Provided that
when he repents whether the repentance is done before the death sentence is pronounced or after
such pronouncement is carried out, he shall be free of the hudud sentence and his forfeited property
shall be returned to him,” the enactment says.

2. Perak State Enactment-Crimes (Syariah) Enactment 1992

Section 13: Words or action importing apostacy