The federal law of Malaysia is the Federal Constitution. The Federal Constitution divides the legislative power of the Federation into its judicial power, its legislative power and its executive power. At both the federal and state levels, separation of powers occurs. The federal government has executive power over all matters on which Parliament can legislate. The states have executive power over all matters on which the legislatures can legislate. In the State of Malaysia, a federal law, the Muslim Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1965), confers jurisdiction on courts constituted under any law of the State, for the purpose of dealing with offenses under Muslim law. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay Furthermore, under item 1 of the State List, the power to legislate for the creation and punishment of offenses committed by a person professing the religion of Islam against the perceptions of that religion, except with respect to matters included in the federal list, are assigned to the state legislatures. Abdul Hamid Mohammad FCJ pointed out in the case of Latifah v Rosmawati that although the Federal Parliament, under Article 74 of the Federal Constitution, has extensive powers over matters enumerated in the Federal List (which include cases external affairs, defense, internal security, marriage and divorce), it does not have the power to legislate in the following areas, in matters of civil and criminal law and procedure and administration of justice, regarding the constitution and organization of Sharia courts, regarding Islamic personal law relating to marriages, divorce, guardianship, alimony, adoption, legitimacy. Due to this, the law on marriage and divorce of non-Muslims falls under the jurisdiction of Parliament, while marriage and divorce of Muslims falls under the jurisdiction of a state legislature. There should not be a situation in which both courts have jurisdiction over the same question or issue if the laws are passed by the Parliament and the State Legislature in strict accordance with the Federal List and the State List. Although FCJ Abdul Hamid Mohamad did not enumerate state laws that have encroached on the federal legislative domain, one area where such violation is quite clear is that of criminal law. Criminal law is entirely a federal matter under the Federal Constitution. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay However, according to Schedule 9, List 2, Item 1, the State Assemblies are empowered to create and punish offenses against the precepts of Islam, except in respect of matters included in the Federal List . The Federal Court has clarified that there are two constitutional conditions for the exercise of this power: where an offense already exists in the Federal Penal Code, for example, a state assembly cannot create a similar offense, because it would constitute an offense against the exception in item 1 that no other state legislation is permitted when the matters are already included in the federal list. Furthermore, as Professor Shad Saleem Faruqi stated, "murder, theft, robbery, rape, incest and homosexuality are all offenses in Islamic law but are clearly in the hands of the federal government due to Annex 9, List I, item 4(h) and Islamic law. Federal Penal Code. Murder is covered by articles 300, 302 and 307 of the Code.