The rights and liabilities of the Religious Enforcement Officer in khalwat cases with regards to the position in Selangor. / Siti Nur Razan Abd Razak … [et al.]

Khalwat is a criminal offence under the Syariah law, which has increasingly affected the Muslims community. Khalwat involves cohabitation by two persons of different sex, which could raise suspicion of the commission of an indecent act. The Religious Enforcement Officer is the person who will actively involved in the arrest and investigation of the persons caught for khalwat offence. It is undeniable that Islam encourages the performing of good deeds and abhorring evil among the Muslims. However, this may sometimes generate predicaments as to the manner in which the persons so authorized to perform their duties accordingly. This is because the Religious Enforcement Officers are now seems to appear assertively in exercising their powers when dealing with khalwat cases and on certain occasions, their acts are deemed to amount to trespass to people's privacy. Conversely, each state in Malaysia possess the administration and the criminal procedure enactment that accentuating on the roles of the Religious Enforcement Officer and the manner they should deal with khalwat cases. Most of the state enactments encompass similar general provisions in relation to the Religious Enforcement Officer except that the provisions are arranged differently. This paper, therefore, limit itself to the rights and liabilities of the Religious Enforcement Officer in exercising their powers particularly in khalwat cases and it will be discussed and compared in the light of the various state enactments in Malaysia and decided cases, predominantly in the Federal Territories, Kelantan and Perlis, giving emphasize to the state of Selangor.