DR. SHAMRAHAYU A. AZIZ

My name is Shamrahayu Ab. Aziz. I am now an Associate Professor at the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). My father’s name is Ab. Aziz bin Yunus and my mother’s name is Zabidah binti Deraman. I have 11 siblings. I was born and raised in Pasir Putih and Melor, Kota Bharu Kelantan. My primary school was Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Halban, Melor, Kota Bharu Kelantan. My secondary school was Maahad Muhammadi, Kota Bharu. Maahad Muhammadi is an Arabic school, where all religious subjects were taught in Arabic language. In 1986 I enrolled as a matriculation law student at International Islamic University. In the following year I registered to read law (LL.B) and graduated in 1991. I joined the International Islamic University Malaysia as a staff member, Assistant Lecturer, in December 1991. In 1992 I pursued a one year course to study Shariah (LL.B(S)) as my second degree and graduated in the same year. I received a masters degree, that is Masters in Comparative Laws (MCL) in 1993. In year 2000, I obtained a Diploma in Syariah Legal Practice (DSLP). I graduated with a Ph.D degree in Criminal Law and Human Rights in 2007. The title of my Ph.D theses was “Legal Measures Regulating Offences against Islam in Malaysia”. All the degrees are from IIUM. I am honoured to receive an Honourary Panglima Mahkota Wilayah, with the title Datuk, from His Majesty Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Ibn Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahamd Shah Al-Mustain Billah in February 2021. I do know that everyone struggles with feelings of inadequacies and inexperience. So do I. Sometimes I do have the feeling to withdraw from what I have been doing all the years. As much I want the society to appreciate the Constitution, but the challenges are huge, especially in balancing my basic duties as lecturer and researcher and becoming an academic activist. What I mean by academic activist here is that the academic who are active in participation at the national level, giving views to the public and active in popular writing. The purpose of my life is to contribute and beneficial the religion and country as my father often said. Berjasa kepada agama, bangsa dan negara. I do not know what exactly motivates or inspires me. Probably it is just the way that I was brought up. I was always advised by my parents to be one who is responsible, to do what is entrusted whole-heartedly with less question, what more complaints. Be an obedient worker and must be creative and innovative in carrying out the trust (amanah). My philosophy of life is “good deeds good reward, to remain as a servant of Allah who loves knowledge, speaks the truth with knowledge and wisdom and be humble in all actions”. May Allah grant and shower us all with His guidance and wisdom.

My Ambition My parents, family and teachers made me who I am today. They instilled in me values and principles which I need to guide my life. At the initial stage of my life, and in fact, until now, I am not an ambitious person. I do not aspire much from what I do . What I wanted was to be a good child, read books and do well in examination. I wanted to make my parents and family be proud of me and my achievements. So much so, I did not realize that being a law graduate, I should have begun to think of the best career path. Academic Experience After joining IIUM as a staff member, I focused on the teaching loads. I was assigned by the late Professor Ahmad Ibrahim to understudy Constitutional law courses under the supervision of Professor Muhammad Ghouse, a constitutional law expert from India who was in contract service at IIUM. I am indeed very grateful to be under the late professor supervision and I must admit that the understudy program had contributed a lot on the development of my knowledge and experience in Constitutional Law subject. Since then, my interest in the subject began to deepen. After my MCL graduation in 1993 I started teaching Constitutional Law for undergraduate students. From there on, I started to focus on reading constitutional law. My interest to study other public law developed after I was assigned to teach subjects like Syariah Criminal and Civil Procedure, Syariah Evidence Law and Islamic Criminal Law at the undergraduate level. I also facilitated MCL courses, Fundamental Rights in In Islam and Principles of Governance in Islam. This has made my area of specialization spread within the range of public law, especially Constitutional law, Islamic Constitutional Law, Islamic Criminal Law, Islamic Procedure and general administration of Islamic law in Malaysia. National Level Research Experience I have participated in few research activities at the national level. The most notable national research activities was that I was appointed as a member of the Steering Committee, National Human Right Action Plan in 2016. The appointment was made by the Law Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department. Following the appointment as a member of the Steering Committee, I was tasked to supervise a research for the purpose of the development of National Human Action Plan. I was also the Principal Investigator on “Baseline Research on National Human Right Action Plan”. I led 44 other researchers from various public and private universities. Media Appearance My first notable appearance in the media was in September 2008. The Utusan Malaysia interviewed me regarding the position of the Malays under the Federal Constitution. Since then I started to be active in the media. I have been referred to by the media practitioners and journalists on legal matters, especially issues relating to Constitutional Law. I appear on all Malaysian television and radio stations as an invited guest in talk shows related to law, national security and matters concerning national untity.