Collection and Preparation of Shariah Courts' Statistical Data: Studies in Pahang and Penang
(Pengumpulan dan Penyediaan Data Statistik Mahkamah Syariah: Kajian di Pahang dan Pulau Pinang)
Abstract
Collection and maintenance of statistical data or information is important in any organization that deals with the public, especially courts of law. The data can be used for policy decisions and action plans to improve services or strategic planning. Syariah courts in Malaysia similarly collect statistical data regarding cases registered and disposed of in their respective courts for the above purpose. Accuracy and reliability of such data is imperative so that the policies and action plans designed will solve particular problems or achieve the required objectives. The main objective of this article is to test the accuracy of statistical data collected by the Syariah courts in Malaysia by using the Syariah courts of Pahang and Penang as samples. The methodology used in this article is data collection, with the primary data obtained from court files and interviews with officials. This article aims to identify issues and problems faced by the Syariah courts in Malaysia in the collection and maintenance of statistical data regarding court cases, and to relate these to the effectiveness of the court in administering and disposing of cases. From the data analysed, it was found that the data produced by the court is somehow questionable although not entirely unreliable where there is a difference of 17.1 percent between the data presented by the courts and their own records. The article proposes some improvements in the conclusion.
Keywords: statistical data of cases, Syariah courts, records, court management
References
Ahmad Hidayat Buang, 2005. Mahkamah Syariah di Malaysia: Pencapaian dan Cabaran. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Univesiti Malaya, hlm. 15.
Ahmad Hidayat Buang (ed.), 2004. Fatwa di Malaysia. t.t.: Jabatan Syariah dan Undang-undang, Akademi Pengajian Islam, Universiti Malaya.
Ahmad Hidayat Buang, 2008. "Penulisan Teks Penghakiman dalam Perundangan Islam" dlm. Ruzman Md. Noor (ed.). Penulisan Teks Penghakiman di Mahkamah Syariah. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Universiti Malaya, hlm. 1-18.
Buchanan, Jack R. dan Fennell, Richard D., 1981. "Model-Directed Information Systems for Management of the Federal Courts" dlm. Management Science 27:8, hlm. 887, Ogos 1981.
Dwayne Cox, "The Rise of Confidentiality: State Courts on Access to the Public Records During the Mid-Twentieth Century" dlm. The American Archivist 68:2, hlm. 312, 2005.
Hinson,Christopher L., "Legal Informatics: Opportunities for Information Science" dlm. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 46:2, hlm. 134, 2005.
Hooker, M. B., 1984. Islamic Law in South-East Asia. Singapura: Oxford University Press, hlm. 282.
http://www.badilag.net/statistik-perkara/7969-informasi-keperkaraan-peradilan-agama-tahun-2010.html (Capaian pada 17 Ogos 2011).
http://app1.mcys.gov.sg/Portals/0/Files/SPRD/Key%20Indicators%20on%
20Marriages%20and%20 Divorces,%202004-2009.pdf (Capaian pada 17 Ogos 2011).
http://www.badilag.net/statistik-perkara/7969-informasi-keperkaraan-peradilan-agama-tahun-2010.html (Capaian pada 17 Ogos 2011).
Jalaluddin Ali Hassan, 1989. "Implementing an Islamic Information System for Strategic Management: The Malaysia Experience". Kertas kerja dalam Third Congress of Muslim Librarian and Information Scientists. Ankara: Ministry of Culture and General Directorate of Libraries and Publications, Jilid 1, hlm. 424-47, 24-26 Mei 1989.
K. Mengersen et al.,"Causality and Association: The Statistical and Legal Approaches" dlm. Statistical Science 22:2, hlm. 227, 2007.
Mehrun Siraj, "The Shariah Court of Singapore and Its Control of the Divorce Rate" 5:1 MLR 148-59, 1963.
Meshal, Reem A., 2006. "The State, the Community and the Individual: Local Custom and the Construction of Orthodoxy in the Sijills of Ottoman Cairo 1558-1646". PhD McGill University, hlm. 124-29.
Muhamad Sufian Hashim, "The Relationship between Islam and the State in Malaya" dlm. Intisari 1:1, hlm.13, 1962
Sheikh Ghazali Abdul Rahman, 2005. "Syariah Court: Delay in the Delivery System of Administration of Justice" (teks dalam bahasa Melayu). Kertas kerja dalam Forum on the Right to an Expeditious and Fair Trial. Kuala Lumpur, 7-8 April 2005, hlm. 23.
Singapura. Kementerian Pembangunan Masyarakat, Belia dan SukanSingapura. Annual Report of the Registry of Muslim Marriage and the Syariah Court. t.t.: Kementerian Pembangunan Masyarakat, Belia dan Sukan Singapura.
