<P> Prior to the independence in 1957, most of the laws of United Kingdom were imported and either made into local legislation or simply applied as case laws . Malaysian law is also based on other jurisdictions namely Australia and India . The criminal law in Malaysia--the Criminal Procedure Code--was based on the Indian criminal code . Similarly, the Contracts Act is based on the Indian model . Malaysian land law is based on the Australian Torrens system . </P> <P> The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land . It provides the legal framework for the laws, legislation, courts, and other administrative aspects of the law . It also defines the government and monarch, and their powers, as well as the rights of the citizens . </P> <P> The dual system of law is provided in Article 121 (1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia . Article 3 also provides that Islamic law is a state law matter with the exception for the Federal Territories of Malaysia . Islamic law refers to sharia law, and in Malaysia it is known and spelled as syariah . The court is known as the Syariah Court . Looking at the Malaysian legal system as a whole, sharia law plays a relatively small role in defining the laws on the country . It only applies to Muslims . With regards to civil law, the Syariah courts has jurisdiction in personal law matters, for example marriage, inheritance, and apostasy . In some states there are sharia criminal laws, for example there is the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment 1993 . Their jurisdiction is however limited to imposing fines for an amount not more than RM 5000, and imprisonment to not more than 3 years . In August 2007, the then Chief Justice of Malaysia proposed to replace the current common law application in Malaysia with sharia law . </P> <P> Complications have arisen with regard to the dual justice system, for example with regard to freedom of religion . Article 11 of the Constitution provides that "Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion". However, in the case of Lina Joy--a Malay who converted to Christianity--the Federal Court of Malaysia refused to allow her to change her religion indicated in her identity card (MyKad). The judges held that they had no jurisdiction on the matter--that it was a matter of the Shariah Court, as indicated in Article 121 (1A) of the Constitution . </P>

What is sharia law and how does it work in malaysia
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