“Tun Mahathir as a respected leader of an Islamic country should be more careful in voicing out his opinion in matters relating to the syariah law,” said ABIM president Amidi Abdul Manan in a statement.
He was referring to a statement made by Dr. Mahathir published by various media including Astro AWANI on Apr 17.
In his statement, Dr Mahathir urged the Kelantan government to re-evaluate its plan to implement the syariah criminal law hudud and qisas in the state by emphasising on justice.
Dr. Mahathir said hudud and qisas emphasised on the types of punishment and not about serving justice.
He said the punishment also varied for a Muslim and a non-Muslim.
Using theft as an example, Dr Mahathir said that a Muslim who steals would have his hand chopped off while a non-Muslim will only be sent to prison.
“Fair or not?” asked Dr. Mahathir.
According to Amidi, Dr Mahathir’s statement could create confusion where “it may seem that an Islamic punishment is unreasonable and cruel”.
He explained that the burden of proof under the hudud law is tougher compared to the criminal law under the civil system.
“The beauty of Islamic laws lies in its trial, justification and management,” added Amidi.
ABIM is of the opinion that the statement made by Dr. Mahathir emphasising on the punishment could create negative perception towards the hudud law.
It also said that the resistance showed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat leaders may be due by the statement made by Dr. Mahathir.
The Kelantan state government took the step in response to the call made by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom at the Dewan Rakyat recently where he said the Federal government is ready to support any state which aims to execute the hudud and qisas law.
The Bill is expected to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat in June.
The technical committee of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II is expected to provide explanation on the bill to all members of parliament before the tabling of the Bill.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had earlier stated that the party’s stand on the implementation of the hudud law has not changed and he does not want the Kelantan government’s move to be exploited by BN.
Meanwhile, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had stressed that it would continue implementing the hudud law despite being opposed by Pakatan Rakyat as it “does not have an agreement with DAP and PKR” to not implement the Islamic law.
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