1 -1. Short title and application.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 .

(2) This Act shall apply to all the States of Peninsular Malaysia.

2 -2. Criminal Jurisdiction of Syariah Courts.

The Syariah Courts duly constituted under any law in a State and invested with jurisdiction over persons professing the religion of Islam and in respect of any of the matters enumerated in List II of the State List of the Ninth Schedule to the Federal Constitution are hereby conferred jurisdiction in respect of offences against precepts of the religion of Islam by persons professing that religion which may be prescribed under any written law:

Provided that such jurisdiction shall not be exercised in respect of any offence punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding three years or with any fine exceeding five thousand ringgit or with whipping exceeding six strokes or with any combination thereof.

3 -3. Validation.

All offences under Islamic law which before the commencement of this Act in relation to the States of Peninsular Malaysia and which before the commencement of the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment and Extension) Act 1989 in relation to the States of Sabah and Sarawak, had been tried by any of the Courts aforesaid shall be deemed to have been validly tried as if jurisdiction in respect thereof had been conferred on those Courts by Federal law.