Tuesday 6 May 2014
Over ‘honour’: Prayer leader kills daughter
The prayer leader suspected his daughter was having an
affair with someone in Karachi.
PHOTO: FILE
TORGHAR: A prayer leader allegedly gunned down his daughter in the name of honour on Sunday morning.
Villagers said Maulana Taoos of Balyani village in Kandar tehsil suspected his daughter, 17-year-old Zubaida, of having an affair with a relative in Karachi.
On Saturday night, he reportedly subjected her to severe torture, forcing her to confess. After Fajr prayers on Sunday, the maulana shot her dead with an AK-47. Zubaida was later buried by villagers.
Coordinator for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Zahid Khan condemned the incident and said Torghar still has centuries-old traditions which have claimed the lives of several men and women in the name of honour. Police have yet to register a criminal case against the accused who fled the village after the incident as no one has lodged a complaint.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2014.
Asian gets death for adultery in Abu Dhabi
An Abu Dhabi criminal court sentenced an Asian housemaid to stoning to death after she was found guilty of committing adultery while married.
The maid had been rushed to hospital following abdominal pains and tests showed she was pregnant after sleeping with another man.
Newspapers said the maid confessed in court that she committed adultery and the judge handed down the sentence on the basis of her confession in line with Islamic law.
It was the first time in many years that a person was sentenced to stoning to death in such a case in the UAE. Judicial sources said the maid can appeal the sentence.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/asian-gets-death-for-adultery-in-abu-dhabi-2014-05-04-1.547869
The maid had been rushed to hospital following abdominal pains and tests showed she was pregnant after sleeping with another man.
Newspapers said the maid confessed in court that she committed adultery and the judge handed down the sentence on the basis of her confession in line with Islamic law.
It was the first time in many years that a person was sentenced to stoning to death in such a case in the UAE. Judicial sources said the maid can appeal the sentence.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/asian-gets-death-for-adultery-in-abu-dhabi-2014-05-04-1.547869
Winning GE13 convincingly, by jailing political foes a year later?
Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak with United States President Barack
Obama. Najib had boasted about his reformist credentials during Obama’s
visit to Malaysia two weeks ago. – AFP pic
One year after the Barisan Nasional (BN) won the 13th general election (GE13) with fewer votes and fewer seats, more lawmakers from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) find themselves at the wrong end of the law and risking jail time.
Tomorrow, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok will be charged with sedition, weeks after the late Karpal Singh was convicted of the same charge.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim faces the possibility of jail for a second sodomy conviction while his PKR party colleague Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad is expected to charged again under the Peaceful Assembly Act.
Just two weeks ago, the Court of Appeal had declared Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act – which criminalises the failure to give 10-day notice before a gathering – to be unconstitutional.
And in July 2012, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the Sedition Act will be repealed and replaced by a National Harmony Act. That has yet to take place and instead, more people have been charged with sedition.
Will Malaysians, or the 51% of the electorate who voted for PR in GE13, stand on the sidelines as disinterested watchers as their elected reps are picked off one by one by an administration that obviously thinks the only way to win is by making the opposition "disappear"?
And this from a PM who was boasting about his reformist credentials during United States President Barack Obama's visit to Malaysia two weeks ago.
Can the government say that this is an independent decision of the public prosecutor, knowing full that even a standard operational procedure as searching the sea for a lost plane needs Putrajaya's approval.
Or is the public prosecutor's push to charge Kok with sedition over her “Onederful Malaysia” Chinese New Year clip and Nik Nazmi for an offence under a law now deemed unconstitutional shows recalcitrance on his part?
The reality is that the buck stops with the prime minister. Even research and development projects appear to need his approval or endorsement.
What more prosecuting politicians in court.
It might be another four years to the next polls but the systemic move to remove popular PR leaders shows an administration that has abandoned its reformist zeal and stripes in favour of the old playbook of intimidation and incarceration.
How else can BN win an election, if not by physically removing its foes from the political arena using archaic laws such as the Sedition Act?
Where does this leave Malaysians who were asked to believe in the 1Malaysia slogan and a prime minister who had proudly declared "the era of government knows best is over" when he took office in 2009?
It leaves them nowhere except to find ways to remind the government that it is the people who keep them in power, and it is the people who will unseat any government that fails to keep its promises. – May 5, 2014.
Remove PM of few words, says Zaid
And now, former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim has also sounded a clarion call for the sixth prime minister's head to roll.
"I know the PM is a man of few words. He seldom says what is expected of national leaders.
"But
if this is indeed the way it's going to be then it's the duty of all
Malaysians and the Malays who refuse to be doomed to start an active
campaign to bring real change."That means to bring about change in leadership," he said in a blog posting titled "Malays are doomed", with a photograph of a downcast Najib.
"How much more travesty must we endure from leaders who are destroying the country we love?" he added.
Anwar is no different
Zaid, who has an axe to grind with Anwar Ibrahim as well, also took a swipe at the opposition leader.
"My friend Anwar is no different from Najib; they know when to keep their mouth shut because Putrajaya is everything to them."I urge the Malays to come forward. You need to break free from the fear that Najib, Anwar and Jakim (Malaysian Islamic Development Department) all suffer from. We can still be saved if we do not let ourselves be doomed by Malays like them," he added.
Zaid also criticised Najib over his stand regarding PAS' intention to implement hudud law in Kelantan.
"Look at the debates on hudud and you can see why the Malays are doomed. Even the prime minister had to 'play ball' with PAS because (according to his spokesperson and future cabinet minister Liow Tiong Lai) it’s inconceivable for any 'good' Muslim to be seen to oppose the introduction of hudud.
"If a Malay who holds the top post in the country can be overwhelmed by such political trickery, then what hope do we have? Is Liow and the PM telling us that they have no answer to an old political gambit (50 years old to be exact)?" he added.
Malays are doomed to fail
The ex-minister is convinced that the Malays are doomed to fail in their own country.
"This has little to do with their propensity to stab one another in the back while seeking the top positions, or with what the British did to them or to Malaya.
"It's not because the Chinese and Indians have taken the best out of the country, or have denied them their legitimate rights. The Malays are doomed because they do not think! They are afraid to think straight," he added.
As for the hudud issue, Zaid said "now these non-thinking Malays" have formed a committee comprising scholars supposedly steeped in Islamic jurisprudence to find ways to implement hudud in Kelantan.
"We
know this is just a political ploy because there are no scholars
steeped in hudud. Even in countries where hudud is allegedly used, no
one knows the basis of the decisions made by the jurists of that
country."Do we truly believe that if the person accused of theft is related to the Saudi king or knows Imam Khomeini, he would suffer amputation?
"Or that a member of the royalty who downs gin and tonic cocktails would be prosecuted? Or on what basis do they determine the quality of the witness who complained of the illicit sexual tryst?" he added.
Stating that there are no practical precedents to follow, Zaid, who once owned the country's largest law firm, added that scholars will have no answers to the pressing questions regarding the implementation of hudud.
"The most they can do is ridicule people like me. All this fanfare is going to waste a lot taxpayers’ money, and yet the PM sees no problem with this harebrained scheme just to protect his political image.
"Is the prime minister telling us that we are going to have a different set of shariah-based penal laws for Muslims in Kelantan, while Muslims in other states are spared?
"What is his real intention? This is the worst case of political irresponsibility this country has experienced since its birth," he added.
Kok to face sedition charge over video
Her lawyer Sankara Nair (right) confirmed that the Seputeh MP will be charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court."Yes. Was informed to produce her at court tomorrow morning. Have contacted her," he told Malaysiakini.
Kok could not be contacted for an immediate response as she is currently flying back to Kuala Lumpur from Sabah after attending to party matters there.
In the 11-minute clip, Kok plays a talk show host who interviews a panel of experts on what to expect in the Year of the Horse.
Peppered with anecdotes familiar to Malaysians, the experts offer advice on several issues including security, wealth, education and the economy.
Among others, references were made to diamond rings, branded handbags and real estate in New York as well as several other news items pertaining to tourism and vernacular education.
Viewers
may associate this with the prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor's
reported penchant for luxury goods and her son, Riza Shahriz Abdul
Aziz's 2012 purchase of a RM100 million apartment in New York.Ostensibly, one of the experts advised viewers to place a "lo-si-ma" (a horse made of nails and screws) to attract good fortune.
The DAP vice chairperson had received much flak over her video and was accused of insulting the Malays, Islam, the monarchy, the security forces and national leaders.
The leader, however, denied the accusations.On Feb 6, a group calling itself the 'Coalition of Islamic NGOs' held a protest in Kuala Lumpur and offered a RM2,000 reward to anybody who dared to slap Kok.
They also slaughtered two chickens and smeared the blood on a poster bearing Kok's photo.
Two weeks later, Kok's service centre was splashed with red paint and a chicken carcass was left at the doorstep.At the height of the controversy, Kok even re-posted the video with Malay subtitles on YouTube to prove that she did not mean to insult any particular race, religion or personality.
The Home Ministry had initially claimed that video ridiculed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, but later retracted this.
Kok had also come under fire from BN MPs such Shamsul Anuar Nasrah (Lenggong) and Bung Moktar Radin (Kinabatangan), who claimed that the video destroyed racial unity.
Where’s the RM2bil for temples?
PKR asks MIC to explain how the alleged government grant was being distributed.
PETALING JAYA: A PKR leader has urged MIC to announce the names of Hindu temples that have benefited from a RM2 billion budget that it says the federal government has provided.
Malacca PKR vice chairman G Rajendran told FMT he was amazed when he read about the allocation in a Tamil Nesan report today.
The Tamil daily quoted MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh.
“In his statement, Sivarraajh admitted that the government had given RM2 billion for temples,” Rajendran said. “Where is the money?”
He said it was strange that temple managements all over the country were still soliciting funds from the public despite the availability of so much money for renovations and other expenses.
“Why is the amount stated by Sivarraajh not distributed properly?”
Malaysian Hindu Sangam (MHS) president RS Mohan Shan told FMT he had no information about the alleged budget.
“We are really not aware about the RM2 billion allocation meant for Hindu temples,” he said.
He added that the lack of a proper mechanism to allocate funds for temples was a major issue that the government needed to resolve.
“Any allocation meant for temples or religious activities should not given through political parties,” he said.
Malacca PKR vice chairman G Rajendran told FMT he was amazed when he read about the allocation in a Tamil Nesan report today.
The Tamil daily quoted MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh.
“In his statement, Sivarraajh admitted that the government had given RM2 billion for temples,” Rajendran said. “Where is the money?”
He said it was strange that temple managements all over the country were still soliciting funds from the public despite the availability of so much money for renovations and other expenses.
“Why is the amount stated by Sivarraajh not distributed properly?”
Malaysian Hindu Sangam (MHS) president RS Mohan Shan told FMT he had no information about the alleged budget.
“We are really not aware about the RM2 billion allocation meant for Hindu temples,” he said.
He added that the lack of a proper mechanism to allocate funds for temples was a major issue that the government needed to resolve.
“Any allocation meant for temples or religious activities should not given through political parties,” he said.
Malaysian jihadist was a social media buff
He felt called to join the Syrian war after learning about it from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, says a close friend.
KUALA LUMPUR: Social media played a fundamental role in influencing a young Malaysian from Perak to join the war in Syria.
This was what he told a close childhood friend recently when he returned to his hometown for a brief family visit.
The friend, speaking to FMT on condition of anonymity, referred to the 25-year-old combatant only as Mohamad.
“From my conversations with him, it was clear that he learned about the war almost exclusively from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,” said the intermediary. “That was how he developed such a passionate hatred of Bashar al-Assad and his regime.
“He told me there came a point when he felt he could no longer ignore his religious duty to join the jihad to end the daily slaughter of his Sunni brothers in Syria. He kept saying he was doing it all in the name of Islam.”
The source said Mohamad was secretive about a few things despite their close friendship.
“For instance, he would not answer when I asked whether any Sunni preacher on social media had a particular influence on him. Neither would he give details about his journey to Syria through Turkey or reveal much about other Malaysian jihadists in his group.
“But he spoke enthusiastically about his combat training in Aleppo.”
Mohamad is a fighter for an al-Qaeda splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which sometimes refers to itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“Apparently the combat training was intensive and lasted several months,” said the source. “After they had gained some experience in handling weapons, he and fellow trainees had to guard the base camp when senior fighters were away seeking out the enemy.
“He told me he experienced combat several times when the camp came under attack by Bashar’s army.”
Born in wealth
Mohamad comes from a wealthy family. According to the source, his mother was devastated when she first learned that he was fighting in a war.
“Before he left for the first time, only a few close friends knew about it and some tried to discourage him. But he had made up his mind.
“He did not tell any member of his family. He knew that they, especially his mother, would have tried to prevent him from going. One of his friends broke the secret to her only when he was already in Aleppo. She was shocked, angry and deeply depressed.
“But I think she has now finally reconciled herself to the fact that her son is fighting for a cause he believes in.”
Malaysian police recently arrested 11 suspected jihadists in Selangor and Kedah. They said the suspects had received military training and were raising funds for attacks in Malaysia and other countries.
It is not clear whether the alleged plot involves recruitment of fighters for the Syrian war.
The sectarian war between Sunnis and Shi’ites in the Middle Eastern country broke out more than three years ago following a military crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Since then, according to Western intelligence sources, more than 100,000 people have been killed, millions forced out of their homes and entire towns reduced to rubble.
KUALA LUMPUR: Social media played a fundamental role in influencing a young Malaysian from Perak to join the war in Syria.This was what he told a close childhood friend recently when he returned to his hometown for a brief family visit.
The friend, speaking to FMT on condition of anonymity, referred to the 25-year-old combatant only as Mohamad.
“From my conversations with him, it was clear that he learned about the war almost exclusively from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,” said the intermediary. “That was how he developed such a passionate hatred of Bashar al-Assad and his regime.
“He told me there came a point when he felt he could no longer ignore his religious duty to join the jihad to end the daily slaughter of his Sunni brothers in Syria. He kept saying he was doing it all in the name of Islam.”
The source said Mohamad was secretive about a few things despite their close friendship.
“For instance, he would not answer when I asked whether any Sunni preacher on social media had a particular influence on him. Neither would he give details about his journey to Syria through Turkey or reveal much about other Malaysian jihadists in his group.
“But he spoke enthusiastically about his combat training in Aleppo.”
Mohamad is a fighter for an al-Qaeda splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which sometimes refers to itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“Apparently the combat training was intensive and lasted several months,” said the source. “After they had gained some experience in handling weapons, he and fellow trainees had to guard the base camp when senior fighters were away seeking out the enemy.
“He told me he experienced combat several times when the camp came under attack by Bashar’s army.”
Born in wealth
Mohamad comes from a wealthy family. According to the source, his mother was devastated when she first learned that he was fighting in a war.
“Before he left for the first time, only a few close friends knew about it and some tried to discourage him. But he had made up his mind.
“He did not tell any member of his family. He knew that they, especially his mother, would have tried to prevent him from going. One of his friends broke the secret to her only when he was already in Aleppo. She was shocked, angry and deeply depressed.
“But I think she has now finally reconciled herself to the fact that her son is fighting for a cause he believes in.”
Malaysian police recently arrested 11 suspected jihadists in Selangor and Kedah. They said the suspects had received military training and were raising funds for attacks in Malaysia and other countries.
It is not clear whether the alleged plot involves recruitment of fighters for the Syrian war.
The sectarian war between Sunnis and Shi’ites in the Middle Eastern country broke out more than three years ago following a military crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Since then, according to Western intelligence sources, more than 100,000 people have been killed, millions forced out of their homes and entire towns reduced to rubble.
Hudud in a non-Islamic state
MUCH has been written about hudud. Many have pointed out that to implement hudud, or at least hudud as proposed by PAS to be carried out in Kelantan on Muslims, would be unconstitutional.
So far, we have not really seen a convincing rebuttal from PAS or others who want hudud to be implemented in Kelantan on how these legal and constitutional hurdles may be overcome. Even if Parliament passes the two Private Members Bills proposed by PAS, there is every likelihood that it will be struck down by the courts.
This article will not revisit the same legal and constitutional angles. Instead, it is an attempt to present a view on implementing hudud, as proposed by PAS, in our present, non-lslamic state.
Hudud is one part of Islamic criminal law. Islamic criminal law, meanwhile, is just one part of the Syariah, the entire legal system in an Islamic state.
In Islamic criminal law, there are generally three types of crimes. The most serious crimes are known as hudud – crimes “against God” or “against limits ordained by God”. In an Islamic state, the sovereign is tasked to punish these crimes if individuals have transgressed them. The punishments for these crimes are fixed and the judge cannot reduce or change them if the offender is found guilty.
Because of their seriousness, these crimes are limited in number. Most scholars agree that hudud crimes are theft, highway robbery, drinking alcohol, illegal sexual intercourse (zina) and false accusation of zina. Scholars are split on the crime of apostasy; some say it is a hudud crime while others disagree.
Apart from hudud crimes, other types of crimes under the Syariah are ta’zir, qisasand diyat. Ta’zir crimes are crimes against the state and they are discretionary; the state has the discretionary powers to punish these crimes. Qisas are crimes punishable on the principle of “an eye for an eye”. Diyat are crimes that may be punishable like qisas but instead, the victim may accept compensation or “blood money” instead.
The burden of proof to establish a hudud crime is extremely high. It is far heavier than the burden of proof that we have in our current system of “beyond reasonable doubt”. To find a person guilty of a hudud crime, there must no doubt at all as to the guilt of the person. If there is any doubt, the judge must not find the person guilty of a hudud crime and instead commute it down to ta’zir crime, for which the punishment is discretionary.
Hudud is one part of a whole system. Islam envisages a comprehensive system of values for society. Not just laws, but in terms of obligations to God, obligations to each other and obligations to the Islamic state. In such an environment, hudud is just one aspect, the extreme end that provides for punishments for the most serious of offences.
In such a system, hudud would be able to achieve its objectives, which include justice and deterrence of crimes. But what PAS is proposing instead is to lift one part of the whole and import it in our current, non-Islamic state and say that it will achieve justice.
To take one aspect of Islamic law and to import it into the current system would not do justice to hudud and the Syariah as a whole. Hudud should be implemented only in a state where all the institutions of the state are in line with the Syariah.
That is why we can immediately point to the problems that would occur if PAS’ hudud plans for Kelantan are implemented. Issues with Muslims in Kelantan being subjected to two sets of criminal laws. Issues where Muslims in Kelantan would be subjected to heavier penalties compared with non-Muslims in the state. Issues of crimes committed jointly by Muslims and non-Muslims. Issues of double jeopardy. Issues of compelling non-Muslims to attend the Syariah Court for trials of hudud when the Syariah Court has absolutely no jurisdiction over non-Muslims. Hudud, when implemented in an Islamic state, is not just for Muslims but is applicable to all. Instead of achieving justice, PAS’ plan would instead create inequality and breed injustice.
Islamic scholar Mohammad Hashim Kemali argues that any arbitrary and selective division of the general of Syariah is bound to harm the spirit and structure of the Syariah and would be tantamount to oppression, the opposite aim of what hudud should achieve. An Islamic political order should first be established, before hudud can be implemented.
He cites the example one of the rightly guided Caliphs, Umar al-Khattab, who suspended the hudud crime of theft during a year of famine. The rationale for this was that it would be unjust to enforce hudud in such circumstances, as people were more likely to commit theft when food was scarce. Many other Islamic scholars, including the respected and celebrated Tariq Ramadan, have also argued for a moratorium on hudud when the conditions are not suitable for such laws.
As mentioned by Hanipa Maidin, the PAS MP for Sepang, in his recent article, hudud is “…only capable of dispensing true and effective justice when it is implemented in a perfect Islamic environment where good governance and sound policy prevail. On the contrary, in the absence of good governance, hudud, despite its aim of bringing genuine law and order, may be counter-productive especially if such laws are implemented by a failed state.”
We are not yet a failed state. But there are many aspects in which the institutions of the state have failed. We have a crisis of confidence in our public bodies. We have not achieved social justice. Those who are in need of assistance and protection have not been adequately assisted and protected. We are still grappling with issues when it comes to having a dual system in the area of family law. We have not upheld constitutional guarantees. The list of woes is long and growing, and it needs our undivided attention.
Syahredzan Johan is a young lawyer and partner of a legal firm in Kuala Lumpur.
Malay groups hail latest ‘Allah’ ruling as victory for Muslims
Earlier today, the High Court struck out Sabah SIB’s 2007 lawsuit against the Home Ministry for confiscating three boxes of Christian publications that contained the word “Allah”.
Right-wing groups Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) lauded the court’s decision, saying it was a “victory” for Muslims who have argued that the Arabic word ‘Allah’ cannot be used by any other faith in Malaysia.
“This is definitely a victory for us, for Muslims nationwide. We are not talking about who is right or wrong, just that ‘Allah’ has always been for Muslims,” Perkasa youth chief Irwan Fahmi Ideris told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.
The High Court said that it was bound by a Court of Appeal ruling last year saying the Catholic weekly, the Herald, could not use the word “Allah” to refer to God as the word was not an integral part of the Christian faith.
Today’s case demonstrates that the Court of Appeal ruling has set a precedent which will have wide implications.
“This is right, justice has been served, the courts are following what is in the Federal Constitution,” Irwan added.
Christian groups have argued from the outset that their right to use the word is enshrined in the Constitution which guarantees religious freedom.
ISMA president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman said the High Court had done its job and that both rulings showed that there should not be any more confusion on who could use the word “Allah.”
“The decision today is consistent with the Constitution… the court’s interpretation on the matter is correct and just,” he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.
The Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church filed its lawsuit on December 10, 2007, seeking to quash the Home Ministry’s decision to seize three boxes of Malay-language Christian educational books that contained the word “Allah”.
The books, imported from Indonesia, were seized at the international budget airport terminal in Sepang on August 15, 2007 while in transit.
They were later returned to the Sabah church on January 25, 2008. In an immediate reaction, Sabah SIB president Rev Datuk Jerry Dusing said the church will instruct its lawyers to file an appeal against the High Court decision.
He maintained that the SIB lawsuit, unlike the Herald’s case, covered a much broader scope as it deals directly with the practice of the faith by their Malay-speaking congregation.
Sabah SIB’s case is one of a string of legal challenges initiated by the Malaysian Christian community against the federal government over alleged infringement of their constitutional right to freely practise their religion.
On March 5, a seven-man panel in the Federal Court heard the Catholic Church’s application for leave to appeal a ruling preventing the Herald from publishing the word “Allah”, but has postponed its decision indefinitely.
Another lawsuit, brought by Sarawakian Christian, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, against the Home Ministry for seizing personal compact discs (CD) containing the word “Allah” back in May 2008.
Jill, a Melanau, filed her suit on August 20, 2008 seeking to quash the Home Ministry’s seizure of her CDs and a declaration that she has the right to own, use and import materials containing the word “Allah”.
The court is scheduled to review the ministry’s decision on May 15, nearly five years after she won leave for a judicial review in 2009.
Interview: Anwar Ibrahim
By Jarni Blakkarly
The Diplomat’s
Jarni Blakkarly spoke recently with Malaysian opposition leader Anwar
Ibrahim about the likelihood that he will return to jail, political
oppression in Malaysia, and the upcoming visit to Malaysia by U.S.
President Barack Obama.
You’ve recently had your prior acquittal on sodomy charges overturned by the courts and been sentenced to five years in jail. As this case has been going back and forth for many years now, how likely do you think it is that you will find yourself behind bars again?
Looking at the names of the judges and the way they expedited the process, they even disallowed me to ask for just a few days to get medical documents. So looking at the judgment I think it is clearly fundamentally flawed, because they did not deal with the facts that were abused. So I think that it is clear that the executive is acting under the instruction of their political masters.
Therefore I’m not too optimistic that I will get a fair hearing and I think that it is a foregone conclusion. Notwithstanding we are of course doing our very best to get the best team of lawyers to expose the whole fiasco in the courts. Since Karpal Singh died in the accident I am now faced also with the problem of getting new lead counsel.
So you do think it is quite likely you will go to jail again?
Yes. In fact colleagues I was with in London for the Al Gore group meeting as well as some friends and Muslim groups in the U.K., all of them without hesitation tried to persuade me to remain in London instead of coming back. They all know and assume that because of the opaque system here and the judiciary that I will go to prison. But I said to them, thank you very much, but I have made my decision, I will continue the fight from within Malaysia.
What do you think will be the political ramifications if you are sent to prison? Would we see Refomasi-like protests on the streets again?
Well the system is still oppressive and there are serious signs of it. It’s not just me and Karpal Signh they are trying to haul to prison, but also a few other MPs, assemblymen, party leaders and protest leaders and I think this trend will continue. Therefore you are giving people hardly any option for recourse. Where do you go if you have a problem? Are you going to go to the courts? You will not get a fair trial. So I think what the authoritarian leaders fail to realize is that there is a limit to what people and the society can endure.
However I think with the ineptitude in dealing with MH370, the international community and the international media are becoming aware of the opaqueness of the system and the failure of governance. So I think we are left with no option but to demand our rights not within the prescribed method of elections that are fraudulent or the courts.
So are you saying that Pakatan will be calling people to the streets if you are sent to jail again?
Well I’m not suggesting that; that is for people to decide. For now we are just organizing a series of meetings to explain what is going on. As you know, even the funeral of Karpal Singh—one of the great opposition leaders and icons—was not reported at all in the mainstream media. And during the final funeral possession not one leader from the ruling party or the government attended, so you can see the tendency to consider opposition leaders as the enemies of the state and I think it is very unhealthy. I can’t predict exactly what will happen. There is also this movement on the first of May for example. There is already this call to protest in opposition to new taxation, fraudulent elections, and the beginning for Reformasi 2.0 will be on the first of May.
Do you think the persecution of politicians like yourself, Karpal Singh prior to his death, Tian Chua and other politicians is strengthening or weakening the positions of Barisan National?
I think that when they become more desperate they become more ruthless and this series of measures is unprecedented. We’ve seen it under Mahathir, we’ve seen it under Abdullah, but under Najib now it has gotten worse. The number of people denied entry to Sabah and Sarawack, even during a by-election, can you believe this? The election commission is just completely muted, when party leaders are denied entry to come and campaign, because they say this is the law, but this is the Election Commission acting like a small government department.
Now for example the number of MPs and State Assemblymen being hauled to court over unlawful assembly and sedition just keeps on increasing. It is also a sign of desperation, when the ruling party becomes weak they will resort to creating this enemy of the state business. I mean I’m for now [not being called] an “American CIA agent” only because Obama’s visiting. So now they are downplaying the American agent thing. In fact the ruling party UMNO’s paper Utusan even inferred that the MH370 is the work of the Americans and the CIA. They have now downplayed that too because of the Obama visit.
Do you think the ongoing infighting within your own party PKR will end after the party elections this coming month or will they continue?
These are democratic elections, there are of course major contenders for all the seats and all the major positions, which is very healthy. Initially in the formative period you have this consensus among the whole team of leadership. Now there are more qualified personnel, they are more critical and the environment is very democratic and I believe we will go through this process. Sure it will be messy and some may feel a bit disheartened but we are going through this, there may be one or two that say goodbye, but the rest will continue. But what is important to see is this huge groundswell of people coming to vote because it is the only party in the country that had one member, one vote.
Isn’t disunity within PKR a worrying sign for the unity of the broader opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition?
I can’t see that, just because there are competing groups and factions vying for the deputy presidency or challenging the incumbent – I don’t read this as a sign of division. We have had problems with the leadership in the state of Selangor in the past and there have been criticisms, but still during the by-elections it went very smoothly and the whole party was together intact during the past month and I don’t foresee any problems. Because this is a democratic party, which is not too familiar here within the ruling establishment, we allow everyone to give their own agenda, speeches, and public meetings. That is not a sign of disunity; that’s a sign of healthy competition in a democratic party.
At the last general election you said that you would stand down if Pakatan lost. Do you have any plans for retirement or will you be leading the coalition in the 14th General Election?
I don’t know; GE 14 is some way to go. For now, I am the leader coordinating the efforts of the opposition. Yes, I did say that in the event we lose the election I would retire, but we won the election, both the popular votes and the seats had there not been this fraudulent Election Commission. Thirty seats would have been won without early voting. Thousands of voters came in five days early and all the ballot boxes were kept under police custody and there was no monitoring by any other people. Then when these votes are being counted eighty percent go to the government. It’s not reflective of any of the constituencies.
So well technically, yes we lost, not that we accepted the result, but we said well we have to move on otherwise there will just be chaos. However this has not been reciprocated by Najib and his administration and their display of arrogance is just excessive. They know the votes we got, and they only blame the ethnic Chinese. Until today all calls for meetings with the prime minister or leaders of the government have been rejected. Can you talk about democracy when the leader of the opposition cannot have one minute of air time on television? Cannot have any meetings with any ministers?
So there are no plans for retirement then?
No, of course, I’ve been going on some time. Just because they are putting me in prison now I can’t announce my retirement. If I retired during the Federal courts deliberation then they would say it is a matter of conceding defeat. I have to then declare that I will fight.
The protests around GE 13 have died down and your move to become Selangor Chief Minister has been blocked by your conviction. Faced with at least another four years now till the next general election, what are the plans for Pakatan?
Well the general mood is not just to be complacent and wait for the next election; we should challenge the corrupt system now. That is why we are having this rally on the first of May and we will continue having rallies. Rallies to question the attempts by the Election Commission to reinforce the strength and dominance of UMNO through the re-delineation of constituencies, which is going to be crudely and clearly favoring the ruling party. Also the introduction of the GST, I’ve always seen the GST as a taxation system as transparent and efficient but not when there is so much wastage and so much corruption. Whereby the Attorney General’s remarks suggest that there is almost close to twenty billion ringgit in leakages, you can’t start by talking about taxes. You should start by talking about wiping out corruption and the amassing of wealth by the UMNO leaders and their cronies. These issues are now being highlighted and we are just focused on the next elections and challenging the authoritarian regime now.
Since your move to become Menteri Besar [Chief Minister] of Selangor has been blocked, what are your plans personally, moving forward?
I’ll continue the same. I’ve never been Menteri Besar. I’ve been out of prison since 2004, I’m still leader of the opposition, I’m still general advisor to Keadilan [PKR], Azizah [Wan Ismail] is still the president now. Today I stepped aside, the UMNO leaders they think there is going to be a contest between Anwar and [his wife] Azizah. They get very excited and will drown the country with talk of division between husband and wife. The reason is of course purely legal because UMNO used the judiciary to first deny me a seat at the state elections and now to deny me the post of president in the party. I was prepared to take the risk personally but then they would use the Register of Societies to deregister the party
PKR and Pakatan in general had a very poor showing in East Malaysia at the last election. Why is it that East Malaysians are so hesitant to embrace Pakatan? What if anything will be done differently leading up to Sarawak’s state election next year and further on into GE14?
Well I think the question assumes that everything is clean, that the electoral process is transparent, which it is not. When you’re dealing with the rural heartland, the Dayak, the Bajau and the Kadazans, [they] do not have the alternative media. At least in the urban base we won 90 per cent of the seats, including in Sabah and Sarawak. Primarily because people have the choice and they do not rely on the mainstream media, which is controlled by the government. You’re talking about the rural heartland, they don’t have that alternative. Secondly they are the poorest and most vulnerable and 500 ringgit handouts by the government affects them. But there have been major inroads into Sabah and Sarawak and understand that there has never been that sort of a challenge in the past.
We have leaders that can’t go and campaign, we have had one after the other being denied entry into Sabah and Sarawak. So these curbs are being put in place because they know people are coming to listen. I don’t have a problem gathering crowds in Sabah and Sarawak which means people are now eager, and there is a hunger for information, news and change. But I do concede it is more problematic because we don’t have the alternative media and secondly because the grinding poverty which makes them vulnerable to government power.
It has been reported that U.S. President Barack Obama won’t be meeting with you on his visit to Malaysia later this week. Is this a disappointment? And would you like to see the us become more involved in promoting democracy in Malaysia?
The U.S., Australia and Europe have been harping on about democracy and freedom. My view has been quite well known that there should be a consistent and coherent message. You can’t be like the Australians sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and then being completely muted when there are efforts for example to forestall democratic reforms in your own neighborhood. So our expectation of President Obama particularly after the very significant Cairo address is to give a clear, consistent and coherent message. Meeting Anwar is not the issue here but give a clear consistent message—that was our message in meeting with Susan Rice and we will keep sending key prominent party leaders to meet her with that message.
For example in his visit to Burma last year Obama met with Aung San Su Kyi and there was in a way a recognition that she was a leader in waiting and that there are fundamental flaws in the democratic system. Is that what you were hoping to see in Obama’s visit to Malaysia?
Yes of course, because if you are true to your foreign policy objectives then you cannot ignore the expression of 52 per cent of the Malaysian population and pretend that nothing is happening, everything is all right, this is a moderate Muslim country, democracy is at work and everything is all right like some of the Australian leaders express when they come here. This is not something that would be well received by the general public here. But I would say that Susan Rice clarified by her remarks in D.C. some days back said that though they are not meeting [me] there will be some clarity of the message, which means I think they will be true to the consistent position of the United States in promoting democracy and freedom.
Why is it that you think the U.S. have been inconsistent with their message in Malaysia? Do you think it is out of concern for Chinese influence in Malaysia and the region?
I’m not sure of the reason, but of course Obama is obsessed about the TPPA. Najib is quite unique in that he supports virtually every single policy objective or initiative of the U.S. Whether it is sending troops or civilians to support in Afghanistan or Iraq, or the Iranian nuclear program, or the TPP, I think Najib has been consistent in supporting the U.S. line and therefore they see him as a very important major ally and as always they will be willing to close one eye when it comes to political oppression, as of course we have seen in U.S. relations with [former Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak in the recent past.
You’ve recently had your prior acquittal on sodomy charges overturned by the courts and been sentenced to five years in jail. As this case has been going back and forth for many years now, how likely do you think it is that you will find yourself behind bars again?
Looking at the names of the judges and the way they expedited the process, they even disallowed me to ask for just a few days to get medical documents. So looking at the judgment I think it is clearly fundamentally flawed, because they did not deal with the facts that were abused. So I think that it is clear that the executive is acting under the instruction of their political masters.
Therefore I’m not too optimistic that I will get a fair hearing and I think that it is a foregone conclusion. Notwithstanding we are of course doing our very best to get the best team of lawyers to expose the whole fiasco in the courts. Since Karpal Singh died in the accident I am now faced also with the problem of getting new lead counsel.
So you do think it is quite likely you will go to jail again?
Yes. In fact colleagues I was with in London for the Al Gore group meeting as well as some friends and Muslim groups in the U.K., all of them without hesitation tried to persuade me to remain in London instead of coming back. They all know and assume that because of the opaque system here and the judiciary that I will go to prison. But I said to them, thank you very much, but I have made my decision, I will continue the fight from within Malaysia.
What do you think will be the political ramifications if you are sent to prison? Would we see Refomasi-like protests on the streets again?
Well the system is still oppressive and there are serious signs of it. It’s not just me and Karpal Signh they are trying to haul to prison, but also a few other MPs, assemblymen, party leaders and protest leaders and I think this trend will continue. Therefore you are giving people hardly any option for recourse. Where do you go if you have a problem? Are you going to go to the courts? You will not get a fair trial. So I think what the authoritarian leaders fail to realize is that there is a limit to what people and the society can endure.
However I think with the ineptitude in dealing with MH370, the international community and the international media are becoming aware of the opaqueness of the system and the failure of governance. So I think we are left with no option but to demand our rights not within the prescribed method of elections that are fraudulent or the courts.
So are you saying that Pakatan will be calling people to the streets if you are sent to jail again?
Well I’m not suggesting that; that is for people to decide. For now we are just organizing a series of meetings to explain what is going on. As you know, even the funeral of Karpal Singh—one of the great opposition leaders and icons—was not reported at all in the mainstream media. And during the final funeral possession not one leader from the ruling party or the government attended, so you can see the tendency to consider opposition leaders as the enemies of the state and I think it is very unhealthy. I can’t predict exactly what will happen. There is also this movement on the first of May for example. There is already this call to protest in opposition to new taxation, fraudulent elections, and the beginning for Reformasi 2.0 will be on the first of May.
Do you think the persecution of politicians like yourself, Karpal Singh prior to his death, Tian Chua and other politicians is strengthening or weakening the positions of Barisan National?
I think that when they become more desperate they become more ruthless and this series of measures is unprecedented. We’ve seen it under Mahathir, we’ve seen it under Abdullah, but under Najib now it has gotten worse. The number of people denied entry to Sabah and Sarawack, even during a by-election, can you believe this? The election commission is just completely muted, when party leaders are denied entry to come and campaign, because they say this is the law, but this is the Election Commission acting like a small government department.
Now for example the number of MPs and State Assemblymen being hauled to court over unlawful assembly and sedition just keeps on increasing. It is also a sign of desperation, when the ruling party becomes weak they will resort to creating this enemy of the state business. I mean I’m for now [not being called] an “American CIA agent” only because Obama’s visiting. So now they are downplaying the American agent thing. In fact the ruling party UMNO’s paper Utusan even inferred that the MH370 is the work of the Americans and the CIA. They have now downplayed that too because of the Obama visit.
Do you think the ongoing infighting within your own party PKR will end after the party elections this coming month or will they continue?
These are democratic elections, there are of course major contenders for all the seats and all the major positions, which is very healthy. Initially in the formative period you have this consensus among the whole team of leadership. Now there are more qualified personnel, they are more critical and the environment is very democratic and I believe we will go through this process. Sure it will be messy and some may feel a bit disheartened but we are going through this, there may be one or two that say goodbye, but the rest will continue. But what is important to see is this huge groundswell of people coming to vote because it is the only party in the country that had one member, one vote.
Isn’t disunity within PKR a worrying sign for the unity of the broader opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition?
I can’t see that, just because there are competing groups and factions vying for the deputy presidency or challenging the incumbent – I don’t read this as a sign of division. We have had problems with the leadership in the state of Selangor in the past and there have been criticisms, but still during the by-elections it went very smoothly and the whole party was together intact during the past month and I don’t foresee any problems. Because this is a democratic party, which is not too familiar here within the ruling establishment, we allow everyone to give their own agenda, speeches, and public meetings. That is not a sign of disunity; that’s a sign of healthy competition in a democratic party.
At the last general election you said that you would stand down if Pakatan lost. Do you have any plans for retirement or will you be leading the coalition in the 14th General Election?
I don’t know; GE 14 is some way to go. For now, I am the leader coordinating the efforts of the opposition. Yes, I did say that in the event we lose the election I would retire, but we won the election, both the popular votes and the seats had there not been this fraudulent Election Commission. Thirty seats would have been won without early voting. Thousands of voters came in five days early and all the ballot boxes were kept under police custody and there was no monitoring by any other people. Then when these votes are being counted eighty percent go to the government. It’s not reflective of any of the constituencies.
So well technically, yes we lost, not that we accepted the result, but we said well we have to move on otherwise there will just be chaos. However this has not been reciprocated by Najib and his administration and their display of arrogance is just excessive. They know the votes we got, and they only blame the ethnic Chinese. Until today all calls for meetings with the prime minister or leaders of the government have been rejected. Can you talk about democracy when the leader of the opposition cannot have one minute of air time on television? Cannot have any meetings with any ministers?
So there are no plans for retirement then?
No, of course, I’ve been going on some time. Just because they are putting me in prison now I can’t announce my retirement. If I retired during the Federal courts deliberation then they would say it is a matter of conceding defeat. I have to then declare that I will fight.
The protests around GE 13 have died down and your move to become Selangor Chief Minister has been blocked by your conviction. Faced with at least another four years now till the next general election, what are the plans for Pakatan?
Well the general mood is not just to be complacent and wait for the next election; we should challenge the corrupt system now. That is why we are having this rally on the first of May and we will continue having rallies. Rallies to question the attempts by the Election Commission to reinforce the strength and dominance of UMNO through the re-delineation of constituencies, which is going to be crudely and clearly favoring the ruling party. Also the introduction of the GST, I’ve always seen the GST as a taxation system as transparent and efficient but not when there is so much wastage and so much corruption. Whereby the Attorney General’s remarks suggest that there is almost close to twenty billion ringgit in leakages, you can’t start by talking about taxes. You should start by talking about wiping out corruption and the amassing of wealth by the UMNO leaders and their cronies. These issues are now being highlighted and we are just focused on the next elections and challenging the authoritarian regime now.
Since your move to become Menteri Besar [Chief Minister] of Selangor has been blocked, what are your plans personally, moving forward?
I’ll continue the same. I’ve never been Menteri Besar. I’ve been out of prison since 2004, I’m still leader of the opposition, I’m still general advisor to Keadilan [PKR], Azizah [Wan Ismail] is still the president now. Today I stepped aside, the UMNO leaders they think there is going to be a contest between Anwar and [his wife] Azizah. They get very excited and will drown the country with talk of division between husband and wife. The reason is of course purely legal because UMNO used the judiciary to first deny me a seat at the state elections and now to deny me the post of president in the party. I was prepared to take the risk personally but then they would use the Register of Societies to deregister the party
PKR and Pakatan in general had a very poor showing in East Malaysia at the last election. Why is it that East Malaysians are so hesitant to embrace Pakatan? What if anything will be done differently leading up to Sarawak’s state election next year and further on into GE14?
Well I think the question assumes that everything is clean, that the electoral process is transparent, which it is not. When you’re dealing with the rural heartland, the Dayak, the Bajau and the Kadazans, [they] do not have the alternative media. At least in the urban base we won 90 per cent of the seats, including in Sabah and Sarawak. Primarily because people have the choice and they do not rely on the mainstream media, which is controlled by the government. You’re talking about the rural heartland, they don’t have that alternative. Secondly they are the poorest and most vulnerable and 500 ringgit handouts by the government affects them. But there have been major inroads into Sabah and Sarawak and understand that there has never been that sort of a challenge in the past.
We have leaders that can’t go and campaign, we have had one after the other being denied entry into Sabah and Sarawak. So these curbs are being put in place because they know people are coming to listen. I don’t have a problem gathering crowds in Sabah and Sarawak which means people are now eager, and there is a hunger for information, news and change. But I do concede it is more problematic because we don’t have the alternative media and secondly because the grinding poverty which makes them vulnerable to government power.
It has been reported that U.S. President Barack Obama won’t be meeting with you on his visit to Malaysia later this week. Is this a disappointment? And would you like to see the us become more involved in promoting democracy in Malaysia?
The U.S., Australia and Europe have been harping on about democracy and freedom. My view has been quite well known that there should be a consistent and coherent message. You can’t be like the Australians sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and then being completely muted when there are efforts for example to forestall democratic reforms in your own neighborhood. So our expectation of President Obama particularly after the very significant Cairo address is to give a clear, consistent and coherent message. Meeting Anwar is not the issue here but give a clear consistent message—that was our message in meeting with Susan Rice and we will keep sending key prominent party leaders to meet her with that message.
For example in his visit to Burma last year Obama met with Aung San Su Kyi and there was in a way a recognition that she was a leader in waiting and that there are fundamental flaws in the democratic system. Is that what you were hoping to see in Obama’s visit to Malaysia?
Yes of course, because if you are true to your foreign policy objectives then you cannot ignore the expression of 52 per cent of the Malaysian population and pretend that nothing is happening, everything is all right, this is a moderate Muslim country, democracy is at work and everything is all right like some of the Australian leaders express when they come here. This is not something that would be well received by the general public here. But I would say that Susan Rice clarified by her remarks in D.C. some days back said that though they are not meeting [me] there will be some clarity of the message, which means I think they will be true to the consistent position of the United States in promoting democracy and freedom.
Why is it that you think the U.S. have been inconsistent with their message in Malaysia? Do you think it is out of concern for Chinese influence in Malaysia and the region?
I’m not sure of the reason, but of course Obama is obsessed about the TPPA. Najib is quite unique in that he supports virtually every single policy objective or initiative of the U.S. Whether it is sending troops or civilians to support in Afghanistan or Iraq, or the Iranian nuclear program, or the TPP, I think Najib has been consistent in supporting the U.S. line and therefore they see him as a very important major ally and as always they will be willing to close one eye when it comes to political oppression, as of course we have seen in U.S. relations with [former Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak in the recent past.
Double advice to Ka Siong – don’t tell a bare-faced lie and don’t be caught immediately for such downright dishonesty
By Lim Kit Siang, Let me give a double advice to the MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong: Don’t tell a bare-faced lie and don’t be caught immediately with such downright dishonesty.
Ka Siong committed both sins today when he rebutted my media conference statement in Batu Pahat yesterday that the MCA President, Liow Tiong Lai had missed a “golden opportunity” to say “No” to the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who had attended the launch of the MCA’s “Stronger Together” programme at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday that MCA cannot accept Najib’s unilateral and arbitrary announcement in Alor Star last Thursday that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud.
This was because what Najib said was not the original Barisan Nasional stand, and furthermore, violates an important BN principle that any change of Barisan Nasional policy must be the result of the consensus of all component parties and not unilaterally and arbitrarily by any one party, even if it is UMNO.
Ka Siong should know better than anyone that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government’s stand, even going back to the UMNO, MCA and MIC founders like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun V.T. Sambanthan was that hudud was inconsistent with the secular 1957 constitution.
When did the Barisan Nasional Federal Government change this fundamental position and why did the MCA support such a fundamental policy change?
Ka Siong’s bare-faced lie is claiming that Tiong Lai had said “No” to Najib in front of the Prime Minister on Saturday, rejecting Najib’s statement in Alor Star last Thursday that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud.
What is unfortunate for Ka Siong is that he is immediately caught telling a bare-faced lie, as this is easily proven by referring to Tiong Lai’s speech or the MCA newspaper Star’s report of the speech – which showed that Tiong Lai missed the “golden opportunity” to tell Najib in his presence that MCA repudiated the Prime Minister’s Alor Star statement that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government had never rejected hudud.
Hudud’s practical problems: The non-Muslim witness, state boundaries and the Constitution
They said not only does the Islamic penal code run contrary to the Federal Constitution, it would also have limited reach in that it could not prescribe punishment on criminals who flee the state’s borders.
To complicate things further, the Shariah Court cannot compel a non-Muslim witness to testify before it and cannot cite them for perjury or contempt of court as its jurisdiction only covers Muslims, they said.
“It’s unworkable because non-Muslims will not be subject to those provisions, which means your witnesses, your accomplices who are non-Muslims, will not appear in those cases,” Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong told The Malay Mail Online.
“It’s non-compellable. I don’t have to answer your questions, let alone attend court,” he added.
PAS is attempting to enforce an Islamic penal code in Kelantan as early as next year, which comprises “hudud” and “qisas” (retribution) laws that cover offences like murder, causing hurt, rape, robbery and theft.
Leong also noted that according to the Federal Constitution, criminal law falls under federal jurisdiction.
Syarie lawyer Nizam Bashir said the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution states that the Shariah court only has jurisdiction over “persons professing the religion of Islam”, and thus would need to be amended if Kelantan desired to allow the Islamic court to hear non-Muslims.
Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said recently that cases involving Muslim perpetrators and non-Muslim victims would still go to the Shariah Court under the state’s Islamic criminal justice system.
“I find it repugnant for any rules relating to evidence that a person not subject to the control of the court can come to court, and the court can’t do anything if the person lies,” Nizam told The Malay Mail Online.
The syarie lawyer highlighted the recent controversial child custody disputes between non-Muslims and Muslim converts, where calls for the Shariah court to be given jurisdiction over such cases were problematic because the Islamic court could not hear non-Muslims.
He also pointed out that under an Islamic criminal justice system in Kelantan, a state-born resident who commits a crime in another state can only be arrested once they enter Kelantan.
“Keeping that in mind, pursuant to the 9th Schedule, every state has jurisdiction to enact legislation only within the confines of its state. In other words, it cannot enact an enactment with extraterritorial effect,” said Nizam.
Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan said that implementing Islamic criminal laws violated the Federal Constitution as Muslims in the country would be subjected to two legal systems.
“That in itself is inequality and is not in conformity with Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees equality,” Syahredzan told The Malay Mail Online.
“When it comes to criminal laws, a Muslim person is liable to suffer a more severe punishment for the same act compared to a non-Muslim,” he added.
Syahredzan cited an example where a pair ― a Muslim and non-Muslim ― commit theft together, but the Muslim is liable to lose his hand, while the non-Muslim may just receive a fine or a jail sentence.
“The issue of unconstitutionality arises in the implementation, and that is when it will be ripe for a constitutional challenge,” he said.
Constitutional lawyer Edmund Bon said an Islamic criminal justice system ― which mandates punishments like death by stoning, amputation, and 100 lashes ― violates Article 5 of the Federal Constitution that protects one’s freedom from torture.
“Article 5 of the Constitution encompasses the right to life. The right to life includes the right not to be subject to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.
“We would be ready to challenge hudud laws under the constitution should it come into force,” he said.
Bon also pointed out that the Federal Constitution limits the Shariah court’s jurisdiction to family law, personal law and offences against the “precepts” of Islam for Muslims.
But hudud, the lawyer argued, was not envisaged to be part of the offences that violate Islamic precepts.
In 1993, the PAS state government passed the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II, allowing it to impose the strict Islamic penal code in the state. But the laws have not been implemented.
PAS is now looking for parliamentary approval to implement hudud. It plans to put forward two private members’ bills in Parliament. One seeks approval for unconventional punishments, some of which are for offences already covered in the Penal Code. The other seeks to empower Shariah courts to mete out the unconventional punishments.
According to the Shariah Courts (Criminal) Jurisdiction Act 1965, the Islamic court cannot sentence offenders to more than three years in jail or fine them more than RM5,000. It also cannot sentence offenders to be whipped more than six times.
Court Dismisses Application Over Import Of Christian Books With The Word 'Allah'
KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- The High Court today dismissed an
application by Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) for leave for a judicial review
to challenge a Home Ministry order prohibiting the import of Christian
books containing the word "Allah".
Justice Datuk Zaleha Yusof ruled that the High Court was bound by the Court of Appeal's decision that the word 'Allah' is not an integral part of faith and practices of Christianity.
In her judgement, which was read out by Senior Assistant Registrar N. Arun in chambers, Zaleha said the court had no choice but to refer to the Court Of Appeal's decision in the case of the Home Ministry against the Roman Catholic Church involving a prohibition on the use of the word "Allah" in its 'Herald' weekly publication.
"So, although the decision, was particular to the weekly Herald, all the learned judges held that the word "Allah" is not an integral part of faith and practices of Christianity and, therefore, the prohibition by the minister is not unconstitutional.
"As long the decision stands, the doctrine of 'stare decisis' (precedent), this court is bound by the decision of the superior court," she said.
She said the court dismissed the application with no order as to costs.
On Dec 10, 2007, SIB and its president, Rev Jerry W. A. Dusing alias Jerry W. Patel, filed a leave application for a judicial review against the Home Ministry and the government to challenge the Customs Department's seizure of its books brought in from Surabaya, Indonesia, at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang on Aug 15, 2007.
The books were, however, returned to the church on Jan 25, 2008.
They had sought a declaration that they had the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in all their religious publications and practices, and not just within the church.
Lawyer Lim Heng Seng represented the church and Dusing while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan acted for the government.
Justice Datuk Zaleha Yusof ruled that the High Court was bound by the Court of Appeal's decision that the word 'Allah' is not an integral part of faith and practices of Christianity.
In her judgement, which was read out by Senior Assistant Registrar N. Arun in chambers, Zaleha said the court had no choice but to refer to the Court Of Appeal's decision in the case of the Home Ministry against the Roman Catholic Church involving a prohibition on the use of the word "Allah" in its 'Herald' weekly publication.
"So, although the decision, was particular to the weekly Herald, all the learned judges held that the word "Allah" is not an integral part of faith and practices of Christianity and, therefore, the prohibition by the minister is not unconstitutional.
"As long the decision stands, the doctrine of 'stare decisis' (precedent), this court is bound by the decision of the superior court," she said.
She said the court dismissed the application with no order as to costs.
On Dec 10, 2007, SIB and its president, Rev Jerry W. A. Dusing alias Jerry W. Patel, filed a leave application for a judicial review against the Home Ministry and the government to challenge the Customs Department's seizure of its books brought in from Surabaya, Indonesia, at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang on Aug 15, 2007.
The books were, however, returned to the church on Jan 25, 2008.
They had sought a declaration that they had the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in all their religious publications and practices, and not just within the church.
Lawyer Lim Heng Seng represented the church and Dusing while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan acted for the government.
Migrate if you are not happy, says Ridhuan Tee
In his Sinar Harian column, Ridhuan said this was an easy issue for him – if Malaysia was not a paradise for certain parties, then they should leave.
"Why do these irresponsible parties not move abroad? Because Malaysia is heaven. Why are they still making insistent demands? Because they want a better heaven," he said.
He also criticised several leaders of non-governmental organisations for exposing Malaysia's negative points to US President Barack Obama.
"Malaysia is essentially a good country, but certain quarters are responsible for criticising the country's system," he said.
The National Defence University Malaysia lecturer said these non-Islamic NGOs had avidly questioned Obama about the US.
"Their questions and views did not even take the country they are residing in into consideration, how easy it is for them to make a living in Malaysia," Ridhuan said.
During his recent visit to Kuala Lumpur, Obama had held an hour-long meeting with 10 community groups who had raised human rights issue and political accusations made against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Former Bersih 2.0 chairperson Datuk S. Ambiga had said issues raised with Obama included racial and religious polarisation, political divisions in Putrajaya, free elections and media restrictions.
Ridhuan also claimed that Malaysia did not have the characteristics of an Islamic country due to the increase in the number of temples and churches.
"Not only have the number of non-Muslim places of worship exceeded the number of mosques and surau, but Bahasa Malaysia has also lost its essence.
"Places of worship in Malaysia will soon make the country look more like a non-Muslim country with the increasing number of churches, kuil and temples," he wrote in his column.
Ridhuan said the institutions of higher learning in Malaysia no longer practised Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, but placed priority on English and Chinese.
He also defended Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) for questioning non-Muslim scholarship applicants about Islam.
"What was done is not wrong, especially as the 'Allah' issue is being fiercely debated by various quarters," Ridhuan said.
"Where is the harm if the interview includes the subject of Islam? If the applicant can answer, it is considered a credit. If cannot answer, no problem."
Ridhuan said if an applicant was unable to answer questions about Islam, it did not mean that he would be sidelined or rejected.
"I am not saying what the interviewer did was right, but the quarters which have raised the issue and criticised Mara are too much.
"Sometimes in an interview, we are also asked to compare religions. The Muslim students have never made a fuss."
Last week, deputy Mara director for Sarawak Mariam Mokhtar told The Malaysian Insider that an officer from the Kuala Lumpur headquarters was under investigation after he had allegedly quizzed non-Muslim Bumiputera scholarship applicants about Islam during the interviews.
Mariam had said that non-Muslim students who attended the scholarship interview did not have to be questioned about Islam.
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