Malaysia not ready for hudud/Act 355

I wonder if faith and God are meant to be monopolies. Only those who can claim to impose Islam on well-meaning, hard-working people get a pass to Heaven? The hudud debacle in Malaysia has consumed our national unity.

And I wonder, what gives a group of Muslims bent on applying hudud the right to supersede the preference of a democratic majority? The emphasis on imposition of hudud on Muslims and often at real cost to non-Muslims is symptomatic of our misplaced priorities.

Hudud is a contentious topic in Islamic circles. Opinions range from categorical imposition on all people in all countries to declaring hudud as irrelevant. The problem of extremism therefore arises. However, once you look at opinions from scholars across the world about implementing hudud, they agree on two things - firstly, it is only a fraction of Islamic Shariah; secondly, It is impossible to implement in the absence of certain conditions.

There are four obvious reasons hudud and contemporary Malaysia is not a marriage to be had. Firstly, hudud is only a part of a wider state mechanism that upholds principles of Islam. Hudud is only one manifestation of our love for Allah (SWT) and one that happens in a truly Islamic society.

Shariah encompasses a wide range of prescriptions. They nudge us towards a world where leaders don’t pilfer public funds, leaders like that do not get elected to begin with. One where our youth need not be caned to the masjid but where youth congregate in prayer halls because the beauty of Islam becomes patently obvious to anyone with eyes open.

Secondly, the discussion of hudud is a discussion of a new covenant. Even before we get to the hows, there needs to be a consensus on doing it in principle. Malaysia does not belong to Malays or the Indians or the Chinese or the other ethnicities. Malaysia belongs to Malaysians and the Malaysian identity must not be confined to certain ethnicities. More importantly, the constitution was a covenant that promised participation from all races and all citizens.

The idea of a hudud state in the backdrop of widespread discontent is a violation of that covenant. Thirdly, hudud proponents have clearly failed to fulfill it's very aim. When well-meaning citizens of a country are repelled by imposition of rules they do not believe in or understand, they haven’t done anything to fulfill the rakyat’s fundamental priorities.

You can choose to go out and have a conversation with the average Malaysian. The average Malaysian feels exhaustion, robbed of opportunities. They despair the impunity with which our leaders exploit public wealth, they despise the growing disparity. In a Malaysia so rife with pain, I cannot fathom an Islamic case for hudud. I see a case for hate-mongering and division at best.

Finally, in a 21st century community, revival of hudud must accompany an inclusive discussion of the hows. The provisions of Act 355 as they stand are far from ideal. It has the ability to prescribe punishments such as RM100,000 fine, 100 canings and 30 years of imprisonment. All this while committing invasion of private spaces, public shaming.

From a fiqh perspective the practices are often horrifying. In response to concerns raised about the absolute lack of preconditions that must be fulfilled in terms of maqasid shariah preservation, environment for learning shariah, acceptance of shariah precepts, presence of just leaders; polemical assaults against conscientious objectors is how the hudud lobby has dealt with efforts at conversation.

How, is a question far from settled. But the road so far is definitely not how we implement hudud in a country that promised safety and agency to all of its citizens.

Intention and circumstances matter most

In Islam, intention and circumstances matter most. And when we try our best, Allah (SWT) joins forces and victory becomes just a by-product of that process. Take the case of the Temiar people in Kelantan. The Temiar are one of the Orang Asli communities in Malaysia who have consistently chosen a life rooted in meaningful traditions and practices. When their homes were taken away, they fought back and then every ruling class only sought to amplify oppression.

Malaysian democracy promised them a shot at restitution. But we have continued to desecrate their homes and out of desperation, they set up blockades in Kelantan. This is not even the first time this happened. The political machine has responded with threats. While mercy for the creation of Allah (SWT) is a principle the Temiar people live every day by protecting the forests.

Shariah is a wide set of prescriptions and most of it is about public welfare, bringing people together, removing corruption, being sympathetic and creating an environment where Islamic virtues truly manifest. The goals of Shariah and prescriptions are about tackling these grievances foremost. A shariah state is not one where we force these problems out of public consciousness or intimidate them into silence.

Our questionable priorities have paved a toxic road to hatred and animosity which is far from ideal.

Islam is at a crossroads in Malaysia. Muslims and often non-Muslims are left to interpret Islam as the force consuming our national unity but in a constellation of understanding and return to goals of shariah, it will become the force that redeems. The choice is entirely ours.

The political goals of Islam must accommodate the recognition that too often, we have been less than kind to many communities. People who remind me of a Boris Cyrulnik quote I read, “Resilience is more than resistance, it is also learning to live”. We have built a resilient nation. The tough part is learning how to live.

SYED SADDIQ SYED ABDUL RAHMAN is a part-time lecturer at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) Malaysia and is Asia’s best debater, winning the United Asia Debate Championship in May 2015.

The bigger danger of hudud to Non-Muslims.

I've highlighted some potential indirect consequences of hudud to non-Muslims in my previous post. Now this is a bigger one.

Implementation of hudud opens a question as to whether the country is a secular or an Islamic country in practice. Why is this dangerous? Because it may pave the way to bigger and crazier things to happen such as how we officially treat non-Muslims.

In a typical Islamic country under Islamic administration, the non-Muslims are divided into a few categories:

1) Kafir harbi fi'lan: These are non-Muslims that are physically hostile (waging war) against Islamic countries.

It's a requirement for Muslims to kill them (as announced by Pahang Mufti recently). Killing kafir harbi fi'lan will not result in any punishment for the Muslim killer under hudud/qisas law.

2) Kafir harbi hukman: These are non-Muslims that do not have any privilege of protection in an Islamic country and they are not waging war against an Islamic country.

Killing kafir harbi hukman doesn't bring death punishment to a Muslim but only half of a diyya (compensation to the family). This was backed by a Hadith, where Abu Juhaifa reported: "The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, judged that a believer should not be killed for killing a disbeliever." Sahih Bukhari 6517 in context of kafir harbi hukman.

3) Kafir muahid and dzimmi: They are non-Muslims who have protection agreement with an Islamic administration. Muahids are not citizens of the Islamic country but have peace agreements. Dzimmis are citizens and pay jizyahs (a form of tax or protection money).

It is haram to kill these types of non-Muslims. Many Hadiths protecting them. Also backed by Quran 9:29 "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

Oh wait, dzimmis are bound under hudud laws 🙂 jeng jeng jeng!!

PAS are just saying their hudud won't apply to non-Muslims to get the bill passed by the parliament. In history, hudud applies to all. Look at Acheh.

4) Kafir musta'min: Non-Muslim tourists with permission to be in the country. In modern world, Non-Muslims with Visa to be in the country. These Non-Muslims are protected until they become a harbi, even a harbi hukman.. let's say stupid Australians wearing our flags on their arses and being seen as a threat to peace?

In practical, most non-Muslims in Malaysia will be classified as dzimmis (you pay taxes). What if you don't? You become a hukman; can be killed but Muslim killer will have to compensate your family with half a diyya. What if you raise up voices against certain Islamic bodies? Will you be considered as harbi fi'lan? (Pahang Mufti already did) So basically, you're dead.

This is why it's important for Malaysia to remain secular in administration. Letting hudud bill to pass will open bigger Pandora's box.

If it looks like Islamic country, sounds like Islamic country, tastes like Islamic country... stop paving the way for this to happen.

To my Muslim friends, do we really want this for our non-Muslim friends? Why do we have to create hell on earth in our selfish pursuit of heaven?

#rejectunfairness

Share this so more non-Muslims will know and more Muslims to see the bigger perspectives.

Waytha: BN component parties telling people a “half-truth” on hudud

The Hindraf Chief urges voters in the two parliamentary constituencies not be misled by the BN component parties trying to cover up their failings in the run-up to the June 18 by-elections.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: A human rights advocate has expressed dismay that Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties were telling the people a “half-truth” on hudud in the run-up to the June 18 by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar. “It’s not true to continue to claim that hudud will be imposed only on Muslims in Kelantan,” said Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Chairman P. Waythamoorthy who was born in Kelantan. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

“The people should not fall for such claims.”

Waytha, a senior lawyer in private practice who was in the Federal Cabinet briefly after GE13 and in the Senate, stressed in a telephone interview that he doesn’t want to get into the constitutional arguments against hudud for now. “My focus for now is on the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections at the people-oriented level.”

He urged voters in the two parliamentary constituencies not be misled by the BN component parties trying to cover up their failings in the run-up to the June 18 by-elections. It would be a mistake to take things for granted, he warned. “Non-Muslims in particular cannot accept candidates and political parties who push for hudud.”

“We must respect and uphold the Federal Constitution. There’s no place for hudud in the Federal Constitution. We can’t also make Allah exclusive to Muslims or seize Christian literature in Bahasa Malaysia.”

“Islamisation”, even before hudud, has been the bane of society in Malaysia, pointed out Waytha. “This has been true even in Sabah and Sarawak which have no religion in their constitutions, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), 20 Points, 18 Points, Batu Sumpah and the constitutional documents on Malaysia.”

He recalled that no non-Muslim has been Governor of Sabah and Sarawak since 1963 and “if possible no non-Muslim in the two Borneo nations will be allowed to be Chief Minister in their own homelands”. He referred to PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang declaring recently, in the run-up to the May 7 state election in Sarawak, that the Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak must be Muslim.

He reminded that Kelantan was the first state to ban female hairdressers, whether Muslim or otherwise, from attending to male clients, and to make separate lanes for male and female shoppers at supermarkets. “There are separate trolleys for halal and non-halal purchases and separate payment counters.”

Outside Kelantan, said the Hindraf Chief, government departments have barred the entry of female members of the public for wearing skirts which stop above the knees. “This is the tip of the iceberg.”

“Non-Muslims are being told not to eat in public, or even eat in the toilet, during Ramadan as Muslims are fasting. This is supposed to be ‘out of respect’ for Muslims and taking into account their ‘feelings’. What about respect for non-Muslims and their feelings?”

In Sabah and Sarawak, he continued, non-Muslims were told by the National Registration Department (NRD) to get a declaration from the Shariah Court if they want to leave Islam and have that fact stated in their MyKads. “These are not Muslims but people who were mistakenly labeled as Islam in their MyKads just because they had a bin in their name or had ‘Muslim’-sounding names.”

“In Sabah and Sarawak, many Orang Asal use bin in their names. Jeffrey Kitingan himself has a bin in his name. The NRD daren’t wag its tail with him. It bullies the poor kampung folks.”

Curiously, noted Waytha, many Muslims in Sabah who have “Christian” names have Islam in their MyKads. “Going by the logic of the NRD in dealing with non-Muslims who have bin in their names, these Muslims who have ‘Christian’ names should not have Islam in their MyKads. It’s a heads I win, tails you lose approach at the NRD.”

The man with a long keris

“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”

- Arthur Schopenhauer, ‘Essays and Aphorisms’

I have no idea what goes on in PAS these days. I do not think even PAS members know what is going on in PAS these days. Long-time members who consider me a friend (as I them) tell me that there this strong whiff of “nyanyuk” going on in the PAS leadership council.

PAS friends of mine were sniggering when party leader Abdul Hadi Awang cut that cake in the form of a PAS flag because to them it symbolised the balkanisation of PAS. Members carving out little fiefdoms or sultanates if one is so inclined, with Amanah the big orange elephant in the room.

Meanwhile, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad said, “If our delegates came wearing shorts, our women came without wearing the headscarves, our leaders shaking hands between men and women, only then PAS can be accused of being deviant,” which just goes to show you that only PAS could describe normal behaviour as “deviant” within their ethos. This was the ‘PAS for all’ that we were told would usher in a new Malaysian dawn? I bet the vice-president thinks he has a long keris too.

Only in the mind of a Malay supremacist would a weapon (keris) be used as an ornament to liven up the political landscape. The keris is a dog whistle for non-Malays who understand the agenda behind those waving it around. When was the last time the keris was extended as a symbol of good faith?

Just recently non-Malays were reminded of Malay supremacy during the Red Shirt rally where our prime minster said, “Malays too can show that we can still rise up, rise up when our dignity is challenged; rise up when our leaders are insulted, ridiculed, embarrassed. Malays say enough, let no one repeat evil acts like that again.”

I wonder if he was talking about The Wall Street Journal. Or the numerous other Western publications that are mocking his regime and his lame responses to the barrage of revelations coming his way. But alas the defence of Malay dignity is confined to scaring the non-Malays, well the Chinese actually, rather than defending the office of the Malaysian prime minster overseas. Malay supremacy is local, I guess.

Look at the pictures from that rally and you would see politicians dressed to the nines in ‘Malay Warrior’ costumes. It would not surprise me if there are a few displays of the keris, too. I am sure most of the participants there believed they had long keris, too.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Najib’s nemesis, remarked that the length of the keris is in proportion to displays of nationalism. Understandable. There is this Umno or Malay supremacist perception that waving a long keris about trumps responsible leadership. PAS now in bed with Umno may have caught something, which is why some PAS members feel compelled to act like Umno members.

The former prime minister also offered up his unique take on Islamic justice. The Umno strongman (most people dismiss him as a former strongman or that Najib has him on the ropes but I think differently) said when addressing the manufactured hudud controversy, "Is that (duality of punishment) justice? I don't think you will say it is justice. Justice can only be achieved if the punishment is the same for both. In this case, the punishments are different, they are not just, and therefore not Islamic."

More money stolen through corruption

Would it be true Islamic justice if it was a Malay man and another Malay man who did the hypothetical robbing? Let us assume that Malaysia was not a multiethnic/religious country. Would it be just to cut off a man’s hand for committing theft? By the way, what is the punishment if a man commits rape? Some kind of dismemberment one hopes.

Furthermore, what of our dual system of justice when it comes to Muslims and non-Muslims with regard to the syariah system of justice here in Malaysia? Surely, laws are not solely about punishments and why should certain aspects of Malay life be determined by Islamic jurisprudence?

This dual legal system has caused so many problems when it comes to the social and religious lives of Malaysians. And to be perfectly clear it is not the fault of the non-Muslims although certain non-Muslims have maliciously taken advantage of the system, especially in conversion cases.

A million, maybe even billions of ringgit, has been spent pushing the Islamic agenda and what has it done for the majority of the Malay community? Has it broadened their minds? Has it facilitated a sense of belonging between the various communities here in Malaysia? As the “religion of the federation”, has it proven effective is forming a sense of national identity?

No, what it has done is produced a UiTM lecturer who offers us these words of wisdom, “I don't trust females, because we believe men should lead women. They are not even the head in families, so how can they lead bigger things," and gentle readers, who do you think he means by “we”?

Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria said, “Do you want your money stolen? Of course you don't, that's why you put up grills and alarms. In Islam, we don't have to do this; those who steal will face the music.”

Except more money is stolen through corruption than people breaking into houses. More money is stolen from the coffers of religious organisations. More money is stolen through government agencies. Yet nobody, certainly not from PAS, is interested in chopping off Malay/Muslim hands that have been pilfering from federal and state coffers.

Perhaps if Muslims from PAS do not like their wives and daughters harassed, maybe they should start a curfew for Muslim men (because they are the ones subject to hudud) instead of being obsessed with the attire and behaviour of their women.

However, all this is a show. A farce concocted by craven politicians in Putrajaya, enabled by opportunistic politicians from across the political divide, dressed up as serious political theatre. As one Umno insider told me, “Do you really think that hudud is going to happen here in Malaysia?” She continues, “Hudud and Hadi are convenient fillers to break the news cycle. Nobody takes them seriously. How could anyone take them seriously?”

The problem is that the world is littered with Islamic regimes formed by groups that existing power structures did not take seriously.

At the end of the day, never trust any man who wields a long keris.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy



Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/344314#ixzz4AyGV65CN

Umno to brief BN partners on Hadi’s Bill next week

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Umno will brief Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition component parties on political foe PAS’s controversial Bill to strengthen the Shariah courts’ powers next Wednesday, the Malay nationalist party’s information chief said today.

Datuk Annuar Musa added that Islamic religious experts and constitutional lawyers will be present to explain the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill 2016, The Star Online reported.

“Whoever is in Barisan Nasional, don’t be emotional. We have to sit down and discuss and not come up with hasty statements — that’s not the BN culture.

“Let’s discuss this issue as brothers and sisters. There have been lots of misunderstandings on this issue and we will iron this out during the meeting,” the Keterah MP was quoted saying.

Annuar said the June 8 briefing will be held at the BN headquarters here at 11am.

Several BN party leaders and ministers have objected to the Bill which they see as clearing the way for hudud to be introduced into the country.

The presidents of MCA, Gerakan and MIC have pledged to quit their government positions if hudud kicks in.

The Bill appeared on the Dewan Rakyat’s agenda last week when the government fast-tracked the opposition lawmaker’s proposal, last on the list, through the Order Paper.

Several non-Muslim ministers have claimed surprise, saying they had been kept in the dark that it would be tabled on the last day of the lower House’s meeting this season. Hadi however, has asked for it to be deferred to the next meeting in October.

The Bill seeks to lift the cap for state Shariah courts to punish Muslims convicted of Islamic offence from the current prison term, fine and whipping formula of three: RM5,000: six strokes to unlimited other than the death sentence.

Critics of the Bill assert that the law violates the Federal Constitution and will weaken the powers of the civil justice system.

Dr M: Malay hands chopped but Chinese get short jail terms under PAS' hudud

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said PAS' proposed hudud will see Malays losing their hands while the Chinese will only go to jail for a short time for the same crime.

"If a Chinese man and a Malay man steal something together, according to what they (PAS) are proposing now, the Malay's hand will be chopped off, but the Chinese will only go to jail for two months," he told a dialogue during the book launch of " Apa Habaq Orang Muda" in Kuala Lumpur today.

The event was streamed 'live' on Kelab Che Det's Facebook page.

Mahathir used the example in trying to emphasise laws are only truly Islamic if they were just.

"Is that (duality of punishment) justice? I don't think you will say it is justice.

"Justice can only be achieved if the punishment is the same for both.

"In this case, the punishments are different, they are not just, and therefore not Islamic," he said.

Mahathir said just because we are an Islamic state doesn't mean we have to be extreme.

"Claiming a country to be an Islamic state doesn't mean we have to be extreme or not take into account the multi-racial and multi-religious character of our country," he said.

He said the country is governed by both common law and syariah law and in both instances, justice takes precedence.

"There are 42 verses in the Quran that says when you judge, judge with justice.

"That is the principle we hold on to when we use conventional or syariah law," he said.

Malaysians, is there life beyond hudud?

Stoning to death. More lashes to the Friday caning. Syaria Law eventually for non-Muslims. Leave Malaysia if you don’t like how things are run. That puzzling and trumpeting Bangsa Johor rhetoric - as if nobody can explain what the concept of ‘nation/natio’ is. Sabah and Sarawak wish to leave the federation.

Criticise the county and you’re not allowed to go for your overseas holidays. Who owns Gold Star and why the deep secret? Syaria-compliant this and that. A possible boxing match with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in Kuala Kangsar. Humans eating ‘dedak’ or chicken feed. Is Hang Tuah a real person? Is the Taming Sari we have now a fake dagger?

These are some of the topics dominating the discourse of our nation. Can we do better than this? Don’t we care about the intellectual future of our children? Don’t we want them to emulate good ethics from us and the adults they see in power? Don’t we have such moral and critical thinking obligation to them, leaving behind good lessons in their national lives?

That much we owe them, so that they could carry on rejuvenating society without emulating the political and psychological ills of today’s leaders.

I feel that Malaysia’s youth of the next generation is missing out on good and productive discourse plaguing the national debate on things. Malaysians have becoming more global, progressive, intelligent, innovative, and articulate - at least from my analysis of the stories of successes I have been reading.

We might be shamed in the cyberspace and international media with the massive and complex money-laundering scandal implicating our leaders and members of their families, but we are also reading stories of ‘global Malaysians’ - in the arts, business, and sociopreneurship - doing well inside and outside of Malaysia. They are proud calling themselves Malaysians.

But I feel that the discourse dominating the country is one plagued with the filth of retrogressive-ness our youth need not be subjected to.

From the Islamists wishing to push the completeness of the Islamic penal code, the hudud, to the ongoing fights between the members of the opposition and ruling coalitions, to the increasing paranoia over race and religion produced by the political leaders, the daily news of cases of corruption, robbery in broad daylight, the ongoing public arguments between the Johor Royal household with select Umno politicians - showing who can be more arrogant that the other - the malaise in our education system, and a host of other issues plaguing us, I feel that we are not moving in the right direction and taking advantage of the richness and talented-ness of our diverse population.

In other words, we are constantly at war with ourselves and that the goal of each political party is to destroy one another and for each leader to aim for the jugular - to rule the country.

As citizens we are not allowed speak up against evil-doings, such as the massive losses arising from the 1MDB fiasco although it is the right of each citizen to know what can happen to their life savings such as those in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the Haj Fund, and the fund allocated for the servicemen and women (Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera).

Bipolar a nation we have become

We are asked to shut up or else be locked up if we dare speak of the fate of our hard-earned savings. Bipolar a nation we have become, paranoia our leaders are plagued with.

We are not allowed to do all these although as citizens - besides going out to vote - we are accorded the rights to participate in nation-building through making suggestions on how to maintain check and balances in a society supposedly progressive and democratic.

What a pathological state of democracy we are living in. What a shame for a country supposedly a ‘fully-developed industrialised society’ with first-class infrastructure and rhetoric of hypermodernity.

Today the dominant theme is (again) the hudud; of the Hadi-hudud proposal. I am sure by now Malaysians understand what the demands are and how Umno is helping to fast-track the proposal. Although items concerning the Islamic penal code are minimal, they do point to the inching of our country to the illusionary and ‘non-existent’ concept of an Islamic state.

Although punishments such as stoning to death and amputation are left out, they might be tabled again eventually when the Umno-PAS coalition on the ‘survival of the Malays’ and the ‘defence of Islam against its enemies in Malaysia’ becomes louder battle cries, especially for the Islamists wishing to turn Malaysia into a Taliban nation.

Today, the insistence is that the Syaria Law and hudud is only for Muslims, tomorrow it will be for all Malaysians, as political logic would dictate. Analysts on the scenario and the futurism of the implementation of Syaria law and the hudud have written about the complexity of the issue and how it can never be a suitable law in a country that prides itself in the superiority of man-made law as such as the Malaysian constitution.

The thought of stoning to death and amputation itself makes one wonder of the barbarism to be represented as a punishment supposedly ordained by a merciful, loving, and compassionate god -– God of the Religion of Peace. God who forgives more than one who gets angry all the time. Perhaps not many Islamic scholars in Malaysia have even inquired into the ancient cultural origins of such punishments; for example of the Pagan (Greek) and early Judaic origin of stoning which was then borrowed by Islam.

Today, stoning to death can be considered barbaric and inhumane and opposed to the United Nations convention on torture. Why subject a wrongdoer to a slow death? Would that be a philosophical question of today as the Hadi-hudud PAS-Umno proposal progresses?

These developments in Malaysia that are colouring the discourse on hypermodernity continue to take away our consciousness - especially of the youth - of more exciting things to work on: environmental issues, sustainability, newer technologies of peace, green technologies, newer jobs, newer hopes for world peace, appreciation of the arts, humanities and philosophies in school, good labour practices, respect and understanding one another cross-culturally, virtual reality, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and even new ways of crafting Malaysian politics so that the rich will not get richer and filthier and the poor taken care of well and re-humanised.

But we are not there yet. We seem to love letting the discourse on Medieval and Dark Age practices dominate us. We need to move beyond these. How do we do this?

Let us share as many ways. As a people let us not stone ourselves to death. As smart and peace-loving Malaysians, let us not amputate our intelligence; the gift of the intellect to be used for ethical and social purposes. Is not religion, from the Greek ‘religio’ about making peaceful connections and not about amputations or being spiritually empty after being stoned to death metaphorically?

DR AZLY RAHMAN grew up in Johor Baru, Malaysia and holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He will be pursuing his fifth Masters in Fine Arts, specialising in Fiction and Poetry Writing.

Answering Jeyakumar's questions on hudud

S Thayaparan

“It's a universal law - intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I have been reading the commentari
es and observing the antics of our elected representatives about the latest provocation by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang on the manufactured controversy of the tabling of the Hudud Bill.

As expected, the controversy has generated the required outrage among Pakatan partisans and the rhetoric has neatly followed a pre-arranged script that Umno believes would distract from the very real problems that plague this nation.

Hudud, in any form, would just be the cherry on the sundae of the fascist agenda that this regime is executing in terms of its security policies meant to stifle dissent and sustain hegemony.

The fact that the opposition establishment is suffering from self-inflicted political wounds and myopic in its political agenda not only helps the deterioration of this country but also gives the UMNO state breathing room to regroup and advance its agenda.

Therefore, it was a pleasure reading the piece on the hudud controversy by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

As usual, the good doctor clearly articulated his views on the supposed controversy and with a level-headedness unsuited to the cut-throat take-no-prisoners world of politics, and made suggestions on how to deal with the issue. He did the same with the Lynas controversy, a sane voice in the midst of lunacy and political opportunism but as usual, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

The honourable member from Sungai Siput did raise some pertinent questions in his piece that I believe deserve answers or, at the very least, a public answer on behalf of Malaysians who may have the same perspective as me on this issue.

Jeyakumar’s analysis of the political motives of Umno and the opposition are spot on and there really is nothing to discuss. However, the MP raises interesting questions that are fodder for a public debate.

Readers should be aware that PAS grassroots members who have worked with Jeyakumar have told me that the good doctor is someone who truly cares about Malaysians without regard for their race or religion. This particular politician is someone who should be emulated and it is to our detriment that few of our elected representatives are cut from the same cloth.

My answers here are not to be construed as an attack on the good doctor’s article but rather as a launching pad for some of my own beliefs.

Jeyakumar (photo) said, “We should not be afraid to discuss religious issues, but should take extra care to be respectful of the beliefs of others. This implies a certain acceptance of diversity.”

The problem with a statement like this is that the only definition of Islam that matters in this country is how Umno defines it and we get an idea of how this Umno regime defines Islam with this quote from Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, the deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs:

“It’s time for the allowances of imams, religious teachers and staff throughout Malaysia to be reviewed for an increase (this year alone, the allocation of allowances for imams and religious teachers amounted close to RM500 million), seeing that their responsibility in safeguarding Islam is even more challenging today with plenty of extremist ideologies that are starting to take root, such as IS, the liberalism ideology and pluralism, including the LGBTs who loosen and degrade religion.”

What does this mean? Well, it means firstly, that this regime does not accept diversity as an acceptable form of compromise in a diverse social, political and religious polity, and secondly, that people who do believe in certain fundamental rights, should not accept intolerant religious views as an example of “diversity”.

Do non-Muslims have a right to object to the way in which Muslims choose to practise their religion?

Herein lays the problem. The question sets up an ‘us versus them’ dialectic, of non-Muslims versus Muslims. Nobody has a right to tell anyone how to practise his or her religion including the state whose religious laws (as Jeyakumar acknowledges) has far-reaching consequences for all the country’s citizens.

When we object to certain practices of the state which we deem immoral or corrupt, we do so as citizens of the country. The same principle applies to certain religious practices. We speak for those who cannot, we support those who have been unfairly targeted and who have no choice as to whether they accept or reject religious dogma as defined by the state.

Across the world, in regimes which actively oppose secularism, the agenda is to separate communities either by religion or race and the means by which they do this is through legislation. If communities cannot come together to oppose injustice or prejudice, merely because such are defined as religious imperatives, there can be no hope for change.

Can we tell Muslims how to practise their religion?

Why not? Muslim regimes have no problem defining the Other’s religion. In this country, there are numerous examples of how Muslims dictate how non-Muslims should practise their religion. The problem here is that freedom of expression and speech is selectively practised. As the good doctor illustrated, there are diverse views on Islam in this country.

Islamic perspectives could change and evolve through interaction with other perspectives. Christianity and Judaism are examples of the Abrahamic faiths which have evolved through interactions with other religious and secular points of views. This is the reason why certain Muslim regimes are deathly afraid that their dogma would be rejected if there is a free exchange of ideas.

But the problem here is not non-Muslims telling Muslims how to practise their religion. It is the state telling Muslims how to practise their religion. It is the state rejecting diversity in the Muslim Malaysian experience and non-Muslims are caught in the crossfire.

Do we not believe that each religious community has the right to practise their religion freely?

I, for one, believe that each community has a right to practise their religion freely without interference from the state. I believe that the state should not impose its religious dogma on any of its citizen even indirectly. I believe that a citizen should define his or her religious beliefs for themselves and as long as it does not impinge on the rights of others, should escape sanction from the state. In fact, I believe that the state should have no say in the religious beliefs of its citizens, much less demand billions of tax ringgit to enforce state-sanctioned dogma.

Don’t we recognise that the entire Islamic world is struggling to define what it means to be true to their faith as Muslims in the 21st century? Do we expect Muslim Malaysians to be unaffected by the ongoing debate/battle?

I recognise (as do many other Malaysians, including Muslims) that Islam in this country is affected by the petrodollars of the Saudi regime, as evidenced by the so-called donation to our current prime minister for defending Islam. I recognise that there is a deliberate effort by the House of Saud and its tributaries to silence the diversity in Islam. I recognise that the religious schisms within Islam affect minority Islamic brethren the world over and that, being true to their faiths, they are being hampered by the stratagems from palaces in Saudi Arabia.

I also believe that forming strategic alliances with Islamic parties does no good for the idea of democracy in any country in the long term. I believe that political grandstanding by certain political parties in this country, in lieu of concrete principles, is why Islam has dominated the discourse in an adverse way.

Lastly, I know many people would not agree with me for various political or pragmatic reasons and while I have rambled on, my stand is exactly the position of PSM. Here is its message on religion on its website:

“PSM berpendirian hak kepercayaan beragama atau tidak adalah hak individu dan mesti dihormati. Ia adalah hubungan peribadi antara manusia dan kepercayaan mereka. Ia tidak boleh dipaksakan melalui undang-undang.”

Answering Jeyakumar's questions on hudud

“It's a universal law - intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I have been reading the commentaries and observing the antics of our elected representatives about the latest provocation by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang on the manufactured controversy of the tabling of the Hudud Bill.

As expected, the controversy has generated the required outrage among Pakatan partisans and the rhetoric has neatly followed a pre-arranged script that Umno believes would distract from the very real problems that plague this nation.

Hudud, in any form, would just be the cherry on the sundae of the fascist agenda that this regime is executing in terms of its security policies meant to stifle dissent and sustain hegemony.

The fact that the opposition establishment is suffering from self-inflicted political wounds and myopic in its political agenda not only helps the deterioration of this country but also gives the Umno state breathing room to regroup and advance its agenda.

Therefore, it was a pleasure reading the piece on the hudud controversy by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

As usual, the good doctor clearly articulated his views on the supposed controversy and with a level-headedness unsuited to the cut-throat take-no-prisoners world of politics, and made suggestions on how to deal with the issue. He did the same with the Lynas controversy, a sane voice in the midst of lunacy and political opportunism but as usual, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

The honourable member from Sungai Siput did raise some pertinent questions in his piece that I believe deserve answers or, at the very least, a public answer on behalf of Malaysians who may have the same perspective as me on this issue.

Jeyakumar’s analysis of the political motives of Umno and the opposition are spot on and there really is nothing to discuss. However, the MP raises interesting questions that are fodder for a public debate.

Readers should be aware that PAS grassroots members who have worked with Jeyakumar have told me that the good doctor is someone who truly cares about Malaysians without regard for their race or religion. This particular politician is someone who should be emulated and it is to our detriment that few of our elected representatives are cut from the same cloth.

My answers here are not to be construed as an attack on the good doctor’s article but rather as a launching pad for some of my own beliefs.

Jeyakumar (photo) said, “We should not be afraid to discuss religious issues, but should take extra
care to be respectful of the beliefs of others. This implies a certain acceptance of diversity.”

The problem with a statement like this is that the only definition of Islam that matters in this country is how Umno defines it and we get an idea of how this Umno regime defines Islam with this quote from Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, the deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs:

“It’s time for the allowances of imams, religious teachers and staff throughout Malaysia to be reviewed for an increase (this year alone, the allocation of allowances for imams and religious teachers amounted close to RM500 million), seeing that their responsibility in safeguarding Islam is even more challenging today with plenty of extremist ideologies that are starting to take root, such as IS, the liberalism ideology and pluralism, including the LGBTs who loosen and degrade religion.”

What does this mean? Well, it means firstly, that this regime does not accept diversity as an acceptable form of compromise in a diverse social, political and religious polity, and secondly, that people who do believe in certain fundamental rights, should not accept intolerant religious views as an example of “diversity”.

Do non-Muslims have a right to object to the way in which Muslims choose to practise their religion?

Herein lays the problem. The question sets up an ‘us versus them’ dialectic, of non-Muslims versus Muslims. Nobody has a right to tell anyone how to practise his or her religion including the state whose religious laws (as Jeyakumar acknowledges) has far-reaching consequences for all the country’s citizens.

When we object to certain practices of the state which we deem immoral or corrupt, we do so as citizens of the country. The same principle applies to certain religious practices. We speak for those who cannot, we support those who have been unfairly targeted and who have no choice as to whether they accept or reject religious dogma as defined by the state.

Across the world, in regimes which actively oppose secularism, the agenda is to separate communities either by religion or race and the means by which they do this is through legislation. If communities cannot come together to oppose injustice or prejudice, merely because such are defined as religious imperatives, there can be no hope for change.

Can we tell Muslims how to practise their religion?

Why not? Muslim regimes have no problem defining the Other’s religion. In this country, there are numerous examples of how Muslims dictate how non-Muslims should practise their religion. The problem here is that freedom of expression and speech is selectively practised. As the good doctor illustrated, there are diverse views on Islam in this country.

Islamic perspectives could change and evolve through interaction with other perspectives. Christianity and Judaism are examples of the Abrahamic faiths which have evolved through interactions with other religious and secular points of views. This is the reason why certain Muslim regimes are deathly afraid that their dogma would be rejected if there is a free exchange of ideas.

But the problem here is not non-Muslims telling Muslims how to practise their religion. It is the state telling Muslims how to practise their religion. It is the state rejecting diversity in the Muslim Malaysian experience and non-Muslims are caught in the crossfire.

Do we not believe that each religious community has the right to practise their religion freely?

I, for one, believe that each community has a right to practise their religion freely without interference from the state. I believe that the state should not impose its religious dogma on any of its citizen even indirectly. I believe that a citizen should define his or her religious beliefs for themselves and as long as it does not impinge on the rights of others, should escape sanction from the state. In fact, I believe that the state should have no say in the religious beliefs of its citizens, much less demand billions of tax ringgit to enforce state-sanctioned dogma.

Don’t we recognise that the entire Islamic world is struggling to define what it means to be true to their faith as Muslims in the 21st century? Do we expect Muslim Malaysians to be unaffected by the ongoing debate/battle?

I recognise (as do many other Malaysians, including Muslims) that Islam in this country is affected by the petrodollars of the Saudi regime, as evidenced by the so-called donation to our current prime minister for defending Islam. I recognise that there is a deliberate effort by the House of Saud and its tributaries to silence the diversity in Islam. I recognise that the religious schisms within Islam affect minority Islamic brethren the world over and that, being true to their faiths, they are being hampered by the stratagems from palaces in Saudi Arabia.

I also believe that forming strategic alliances with Islamic parties does no good for the idea of democracy in any country in the long term. I believe that political grandstanding by certain political parties in this country, in lieu of concrete principles, is why Islam has dominated the discourse in an adverse way.

Lastly, I know many people would not agree with me for various political or pragmatic reasons and while I have rambled on, my stand is exactly the position of PSM. Here is its message on religion on its website:

“PSM berpendirian hak kepercayaan beragama atau tidak adalah hak individu dan mesti dihormati. Ia adalah hubungan peribadi antara manusia dan kepercayaan mereka. Ia tidak boleh dipaksakan melalui undang-undang.”

Ridhuan Tee quits MCA as it's against Hadi's bill on hudud

Controversial academician Ridhuan Tee Abdullah has announced he is quitting MCA as a result of the party's stand against PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's Private Member's Bill on hudud.

Contacted by Malaysiakini, Ridhuan, who has been an MCA life member since 2000, said he decided to quit the party due to recent developments on the hudud issue.

"I don't want to bear the sins in such a party," he said

Ridhuan explained that his initial intention to join MCA was to show that although he had converted to Islam, he still retained his identity as a Chinese.

"My intention was to preach, to be the bridge (to Islam), but it's not appreciated. They even see it as a threat."

When asked if he had decided to join any party, Ridhuan said he was still undecided.

Meanwhile, an MCA headquarters staff member told Malaysiakini that it had not received his letter of resignation.

When asked if Ridhuan is still a member of the Chinese based party, the staff replied that according to its system, he is still a member.

The staff added that Ridhuan is a permanent member of the party.

Resigned in protest

Ridhuan was first quoted by Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) that he had resigned from MCA in protest as the party is seen to be anti-Islam, following its stand against the PAS Bill on hudud.

Ismaweb reported that he joined MCA in 2000 but described the Chinese based party as extremely racist.

“I do not want to bear the sins of being a party which is an enemy of Islam. Hence, I announce that I am quitting from the MCA. I tried very hard to be in the party, although it took me four years to gain approval to join, as I want to propagate Islam, and do not want to be declared as being a Malay.

“However, my expectations were proven wrong. The party is now seen as being racist and has become an enemy of Islam. Whoever is an enemy of Islam, is also my enemy,” he said in a statement to Ismaweb.

He expressed that MCA should have understood Islam and the way of life of the Malays after 60 years of independence, and urged MCA and Gerakan members to leave the country and form new parties in a communist country.

“They purposely try not to understand, and instead demonise the people here who want their own rights. If MCA and Gerakan want a better life, it is better they find their own place.

“Respect the original inhabitants here. This is their land and they are entitled to their rights. MCA, Gerakan and DAP and others should not interfere,” he said.

'MCA, Gerakan, MIC ministers should resign'

As MCA, Gerakan, SUPP and MIC ministers have condemned the tabling of the bill and had threatened to withdraw themselves from the BN Cabinet, Ridhuan challenged them to do so.

“I ask the ministers from the MCA, Gerakan and MIC to resign immediately. There is no need to wait. They are not ashamed that they won through the support of the Malays, and got their Cabinet posts.

“I also hope the government won't approve the formation of a bank by the Kojadi cooperative owned by MCA. If approved, it will be treacherous to Malays and Islam. Sarawak deserves more compared to them.

“I hope the government led by Umno is stern in such matters,” he said, adding MIC's scenario was much worse, as it did not have a single majority seat and could not win without the support of the Malays and Muslims.

He also questioned the contribution by the MCA, Gerakan and MIC to Islam, after the Malays had given their votes which led to their victories.

“The Malays are continuously being cheated. What is surprising is that the Malays and Malay-based political parties are still blind. They should rise up as this is the time to unite and fight against 'the real enemy',” he said.

Najib should resign if Hadi's bill passed, urges MCA Youth leader

An MCA Youth leader has suggested that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should resign if PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's Private Member's Bill is passed in Parliament.

MCA Youth legal bureau chief Ng Kian Nam has asked Najib to state his stand clearly: whether all Umno MPs support the PAS bill, despite strong protests from other BN component parties.

If that is the case, where there are BN MPs who have opposing views and even stand together with the enemy, Ng said, as this would definitely cause the break-up of BN.

This is because the coalition would have lost its basic premise of working together.

As the prime minister, Najib should not have an ambiguous attitude on this issue, Ng asserted.

"Instead, Najib should express his stand clearly. If he insists on aligning with PAS, this means he has betrayed other BN component parties, as well as the trust that voters gave to him in the general election, as the BN chief.

"If the situation has developed to the stage when some chiefs of BN component parties have threatened to resign from the cabinet to protect the secular system of the country, Najib should show his political courage and accountability to resign as PM, or consider dissolving Parliament to let the people decide."

In a statement today, Ng also criticised an unnamed "certain leader" who tried to make use of the hudud issue to divert public attention from the 1MDB and "personal deposit" scandals.

He urged other Umno leaders and grassroots members to hasten the power transition in the party before a constitutional crisis breaks out.

Ng added that MCA's call against the PAS hudud bill shouldn't be seen from racial angles or cause racial tension.

He also lamented that DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had tried to aggravate the situation by asking MCA to quit BN.

Although Lim claimed DAP had cut ties with PAS, Ng maintained, the fact remained that DAP is still working with PAS in the Selangor government.

Hudud: Umno has trapped and shackled Pas — P Ramakrishnan

MARCH 2 — No one dreamt that Pas would be easily enticed to cooperate with Umno. But Umno has its hidden agenda to break up Pakatan Rakyat in order to weaken the opposition.

It has promised to support Pas when the hudud bill is tabled on 18 March in the Kelantan state assembly. This is being taken as support for hudud — which is utterly fallacious.

What choice has Umno in this issue? Can it vote against the Pas hudud bill? It cannot! It has to prove to the Malays that it is for hudud. It would be suicidal for Umno not to vote with Pas. There are no two ways about it for Umno.

It is merely hoodwinking Pas into thinking that it is helping the Islamist party to implement hudud in Kelantan.

Umno’s strategy is meant not only to weaken Pakatan Rakyat by successfully creating dissension within the coalition, it has an ulterior motive as well. It is also to drive away non-Malay support for Pas, which was given freely on the basis of Pakatan’s agreed common platform.

But if Pas falls for the Umno trap and goes ahead with its hudud bill, those who voted for Pas in previous elections will definitely not vote for Pas come GE14. The non-Malays who supported Pas candidates now feel betrayed by Pas’ about-turn. It won’t be easy for Pas to regain their trust.

In the last election, Pas won 21 parliamentary seats. It won’t be able to retain this number in GE14. Pas’ loss will be Umno’s gain. This is the strategy that is carefully being pursued. After this, Pas can forget about spreading its wings nation-wide and increasing its support and influence.

Pas should call upon Umno to prove its sincerity by openly challenging it to table a similar bill in Terengganu. Like Umno, Pas can promise to support Umno’s hudud bill in Terengganu. After all, like Kelantan, Terengganu had also passed the syariah enactment bill, paving the way for the implementation of hudud in Terengganu.

You can rest assured that Umno will not do this. It has more sense and realises that such a move will cost Umno the support of all thinking and caring Malaysians. It will mean vacating Putrajaya and paving the way for a change of government. It will not take the risk even for hudud!

Pas should not be lulled into believing that Umno has chosen not to contest in the Chempaka by-election to promote Malay unity. The truth is that Umno would be wiped out if it chose to contest the Chempaka seat vacated by the sad demise of the much revered Pas spiritual leader, Tok Guru. It would be a humiliating defeat that would shame Umno.

Umno must explain in plain language why it did not implement the syariah laws when it was in a position to do so with its two thirds majority in parliament. In states like Pahang, Terengganu, Kedah, Johor, Malacca, Perak, Penang, Perlis, Selangor and Negri Sembilan it could have quite easily implemented syariah laws. But it did not. There was not even a feeble attempt to do so. Why? Is it because it does not believe that syariah laws are suitable for Malaysia?

The person responsible for the present turmoil in this country is none other than Dr Tun Mahthir Mohamad. He was the one who goaded, challenged and provoked Pas to implement hudud even promising to amend the Federal Constitution to enable the implementation of hudud.

Pas, to their credit, took up the challenge and passed the syariah enactment in Kelantan. But Mahathir did not keep his word to amend the Federal Constitution to enable Pas to go ahead with hudud. He chickened out.

It is very clear that Umno has no intention to implement hudud in Malaysia. Of course, they will deny this and yell their heads off that they are for it.

If that is the case, Umno should prove its sincerity and table a similar bill in Terengganu. That is the only way to convince the Malays there was no double talk when Umno proclaimed its support for Pas!

* P Ramakrishan, the long-serving former president of Aliran, has been granted a respite and now happily serves as an Aliran executive committee member.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/hudud-umno-has-trapped-and-shackled-pas-p-ramakrishnan#sthash.fJ3avSBC.dpuf

Let MCA and Gerakan Presidents explain whether MCA and Gerakan had agreed to Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen supporting PAS’s hudud legislation in Kelantan State Assembly next month as part of the UMNO strategy to break up Pakatan Rakyat?

By Lim Kit Siang blog,

The MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President, Datuk Mak Siew Keong should explain whether MCA and Gerakan had agreed to Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen supporting PAS’ hudud legislation for implementation in the Kelantan State Assembly next month as part of the UMNO strategy to break up Pakatan Rakyat?

Suspicion of such an agreement has been caused by three developments:

• firstly, the sudden increase in the number of speeches and statements by all levels of MCA and Gerakan leaders on this issue in the past few days;
• secondly, the sudden two-hour meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council last Friday night within 24 hours of the death of Tok Guru Nik Aziz on the night of Thursday, 12th February, necessitating the holding of a by-election in the Chempaka state constituency; and
• thirdly a statement by a UMNO Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Deputy Umno Youth leader Razali Ismail on Tuesday, 17th February that “despite the death of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, UMNO will continue to support the Islamic party on the implementation of hudud in Kelantan”.

So is the stage set for a “big drama” from the Barisan Nasional component parties for next month’s Kelantan State Assembly, with Kelantan UMNO State Assemblmen voting in support of hudud implementation in Kelantan but ignored by MCA and Gerakan leaders and publicists who will concentrate on their attacks on the DAP and PKR for “selling out the rights of the non-Muslims in Malaysia” because of PAS Kelantan State Assemblymen and women voting for implementation of hudud in Kelantan?

In the uproar and din of multi-party attacks and counter-attacks, accusations and counter-accusations, the inability of the Kelantan State Assembly to implement hudud unless Parliament authorizes it will be temporarily forgotten.

In the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council meeting on 8th February 2015, it was unanimously agreed by PKR, DAP and PAS leaders, led by PKR Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng that as hudud and local government issues were outside the PR Common Policy Framework, the two issues would be specifically discussed at the following PR Leadership Council meeting and that no further steps would be taken to pursue these two issue in the meanwhile – which meant that any intention whether to propose an amendment to the hudud enactment in the Kelantan State Assembly or a private member’s bill in Parliament should first be brought to the PR Leadership Council for discussion and decision. This also applies to any proposal to follow-up on local government elections.

I have consistently taken the position that it is the paramount duty and challenge of every PR leader to jointly save PR by adopting an Eight-Year PR Roadmap to reaffirm the secret recipe of the PR success in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, namely adherence to the PR Common Policy Framework which binds all three parties and the operational principle of consensus requiring the consent of all three parties before any policy, issue or decision could be made or changed.

Nik Aziz will be missed greatly, especially with the revived campaign orchestrated by UMNO strategists for a “unity government” between UMNO and PAS reaching a new crescendo.

If Nik Aziz is still alive, there would be no possibility even for a revival of the “unity government” conspiracy, for he was the bulwark in PAS in opposition to it.

Now, it would appear that MCA and Gerakan top leaders have also bought into the “unity government” proposal of the UMNO strategists to break up Pakatan Rakyat, as they ware persuaded that with Nik Aziz’s death, this is the best gambit to break up Pakatan Rakyat – a two-prong attack with Umno staying out of Chempaka by-election and Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen giving support to Kelantan PAS proposal in the Kelantan State Assembly next month for hudud implementation.

MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and MCA Datuk Mah Siew Keong should declare their party’s stand on both these issues as noises by their subordinate officials carry no weight whatsoever.

The UMNO leadership has yet to give a commitment to support a PAS private member’s bill in Parliament but it has given a commitment that its PAS Kelantan State Assembly persons would support PAS proposal in Kelantan State Assembly for hudud implementation.

Why is MCA and Gerakan supporting UMNO and UMNO Kelantan State Assemblymen endorsing hudud implementation in Kelantan?

Paedophiles will overrun Kelantan if hudud introduced, says G25

Paedophiles will overrun Kelantan if it implements hudud as the Islamic law is open to abuse and rejects using scientific evidence to prove crime, says a spokesperson for the group of eminent Malays, or G25.

Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin (pic) said since it would be difficult to prove crimes like adultery, rape of children and adults will abound.

"This is the nature of PAS's hudud," she said.

Farida said Kelantan's hudud rejected the use of scientific methods such as DNA testing and fingerprints, instead requiring the evidence of four witnesses of the alleged crime.

"They are using evidence used in the 12th century to prove adultery, pushing out scientific methods.

"They are asserting that is the only way to prove the crime of adultery, which does not make sense," she said, adding that PAS leaders travelled in cars and planes but did not want to accept scientific evidence.

She added that Prophet Muhammad had also told his people about the importance of acquiring knowledge.

"The Prophet said that we should go in search of knowledge even up to China.

"If hudud is implemented in Kelantan, paedophiles will abound in the state,” she said.

Farida added that the structure of society was not suitable for the implementation of hudud.

She said Islamic scholars were of the view that many conditions needed to be fulfilled before the Islamic law can be introduced.

"We need a just society, a smaller gap between the rich and the poor. But here, even among the Malays, there is a divide.

"The problem is that the ustaz in the villages are spreading the message that hudud is God's law which cannot be questioned," she said at a forum on economic freedom and globalisation today.

The forum was organised by think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs.

PAS's plan to implement hudud in Kelantan has been strongly opposed by its Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner DAP.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday urged PAS to table the proposed amendments to the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment 11 at the Pakatan presidential council meeting tomorrow before taking it to Parliament.

But Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob responded by saying that the Islamic enactment can only be tabled at the state assembly sitting or Parliament as it is under embargo.

"However, we have discussed at the technical committee state, which included legal experts, lecturers and NGOs including parties within Pakatan.

"So this Sunday, we cannot table the enactment, the next stop is Parliament," he said after the Friday sermon in Kota Baru. – February 7, 2015.


- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/paedophiles-will-overrun-kelantan-if-hudud-introduced-says-g25#sthash.LgWYMmbj.dpuf

Kelantan hudud tweaks meaningless without Parliament nod, PKR sec-gen says

(Malay Mail Online) – Kelantan’s plan to amend its 1993 hudud enactment will not bring the state any closer to enforcing the Shariah law despite the controversy and vitriol surrounding the move, said PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli.

The PAS led-state government has however postponed the state legislative assembly’s special sitting to table and pass amendments to the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II on Monday, amid a flood crisis that has left thousands of victims stranded across eight states.

But despite this, Rafizi pointed out that any amendments to the state enactment are inconsequential as the final arbiter on whether the state can implement the Islamic penal law is the Federal Constitution that can only be changed in Parliament.

“Legally, this does not mean anything,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted, referring to the Kelantan state legislative assembly’s December 30 special sitting on hudud which has now been postponed to a later date yet to be announced.

“Even if the state assembly passes the amendment, it does not change anything as far as the implementation of hudud is concerned… the hudud equilibrium remains status quo, hudud still cannot be introduced,” the Pandan MP explained.

Rafizi pointed out that many PR leaders within PKR, DAP and even PAS were clueless about the proposed amendment plans on hudud, despite having asked for a copy of the document ahead of next week’s assembly sitting.

The secrecy with which PAS is forging ahead is putting its partners PKR and DAP in a quandary, he added. Both parties have been vocal in their criticism of their Islamist partners plan, especially the secular DAP.

“PAS’s refusal to share (the amendments) has complicated the relationship in Pakatan,” Rafizi said.

DAP is increasing the pressure on PAS to abandon its pursuit of hudud, with leaders alternately telling the latter to quit Pakatan Rakyat or for the pact to suspend ties with the Islamists over their insistence on enforcing the Islamic penal code.

PKR and DAP both maintain that hudud is not part of the PR common policy framework and PAS should not pursue its implementation as long as it remains a part of the pact.

Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob told Malay Mail Online yesterday that the postponement was because many state assemblymen were currently busy with relief efforts in their respective constituencies.

“It is a difficult time. We have postponed the sitting to a later date which will be announced,” he said when contacted on the phone.

The special assembly was to have allowed PAS to initiate its plan to table in Parliament a private member’s bill to amend the Federal Constitution, which would subsequently allow Kelantan to implement hudud law in the state.

In Islamic jurisprudence, hudud covers crimes such as theft, robbery, adultery, rape and sodomy.

Punishments for the crimes are severe, including amputation, flogging and death by stoning.

Voxpop: Flooding doesn't justify hudud

Hudud imbroglio – where is Anwar when he is needed now?

By Ian McIntyre - The Ant Daily

Pakatan Rakyat may split three ways if the Kelantan PAS-dominated State Legislative Assembly special sitting tables and passes amendments to the Syariah Criminal Code Enactment (2) 1993 to pave the way for the implementation of hudud in the state.

The proposal to implement hudud was passed by the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly 21 years ago and again through the enactment.

Amendments have to be made and passed to enable the PAS government to table a private bill in Parliament as provided under Article 76A of the Federal Constitution

It appears even the worst floods in decades in the state now cannot wash away the drama and tension surrounding the special assembly sitting scheduled to be held on Dec 29.

One wonders if the rising flood waters will delay the sitting, but that’s only a wish as the 45 elected assemblymen are likely to go ahead with their debate on the amendments.

And outside, it is Pakatan who will be discussing their future.

All of the Kelantan assembly members are Muslims, thereby bonded by the principle that hudud must be upheld.

The enforcement of hudud becomes imminent after a delay of nearly three decades when it was first promised as an electoral incentive by an energetic ulama Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat who was campaigning in the 1980s.

Today, Nik Abdul Aziz is ailing, but his vision or rather the struggle of PAS as an Islamist party can be realised if the assembly passes the proposed amendments to enforce hudud.

Barisan Nasional (BN) though Umno has only 15 state seats so it cannot stop PAS from passing the amendments.

It is after all, God’s law and in principle, no practising Muslim can ignore the adoption and observation of the set of laws aimed at deterring crime and other sinful acts.

Be mindful that religious matters come under the purview of each state where the respective state rulers chair their religious councils. For Penang and Malacca, the King is the head.

There are federal agencies entrusted with the task of overseeing certain management aspects of Islam, but each Malay heartland state holds sway in enacting Syariah laws and enforcing them.

A fine example is Selangor.

Can the secularism-based DAP co-exist with Islam-driven PAS?

As PAS and DAP head into a collision course, it is with great regret to observe that Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is conspicuously missing.

His party, PKR, only managed to delay it by saying they want a draft of the proposal before making a decision on whether to support PAS, side with DAP or abstain.

It is believed that Anwar is the glue in Pakatan.

But of late, there are telling signs that PR is moving apart. Where then is the Permatang Pauh MP when the opposition coalition needs his leadership now?

Anwar has to step up his game, and prevent PAS and DAP from ruining whatever goodwill festive spirit is emanating now. Granted that Anwar has been through a lot, and is heading into the New Year with much uncertainty.

But he is seen as an alternative leader to BN by many Malaysians, so he needs to rise to the occasion.

He should convince PAS and DAP to work together and prevent the six-year-old alliance tearing apart.

Former PAS Supporters Club Congress’ president Hu Phang Chaw claimed that he was informed by Kelantan’s Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah that hudud was being embraced for political reasons.

If it is political, surely there can be a political solution.

And strong leadership is not just confined to Pakatan, BN should also weigh in on finding a solution.

In other words, this is where our leaders earn their keep, trying to overcome obstacles so the citizenry can continue to live in a progressive, peaceful and most importantly, tolerant nation.
- See more at: http://www.theantdaily.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=21666#sthash.FRetHwY8.dpuf

Major flood because of no hudud?

In cyberspace, I have been reading these kinds of statement these last few days.

Do some science, can we? Didn’t we send a space tourist, with the Russians, to the Space Station a while ago?

Waste not your time linking the flood to the “wrath of God”... primarily it is a Natural disaster coupled with Man’s destruction of the environment as well as the Butterfly Effect of things. Even in lands deemed very Islamic such as Kelantan and Trengganu and Pahang, Man hath shaved the hills bald even deforestating the ‘Serambi Mekah’ and although there is also a ‘Crystal Masjid’ to show piety in another state...

This is a testament, if we follow their religious explanation of events, of a defiance of the law governing the Natural State of the Universe - you shave hills for profit, you profit from logging, you become capitalists and petite bourgeoisie in religious garb, you steal from Nature to turn it into Technology and next, turn it in Capital. You do all these, you have become a religiously unethical person as well.

We saw this in Sarawak and now in Cameron Highlands. Not because there is no hudud in place. You are seeing this even in Mecca itself; with the Saudis who do not care about the environment, let alone history in the major reconstruction projects in the holy city.

There must be a joint interstate fatwa to make shaving hills in Kelantan haram to the max and also to make arguing about hudud at a time like this haram, too, I should say

But spend time not linking religion and science and making strange spurious correlations. We have to spend more time improving our disaster management plans, continuously advancing skills to the highest and more professional level, using the science of Advanced Computer Simulation to predict and control events, and to redesign habitats to ensure we do have extensive casualties and property damage when annual disaster like this strike...

“Pray to God, but tie your camel,” as they say... or rather, “Pray to God and design a 3-D camel that can help you in a major flood like this”... I’d say... "Think of new technologies for crisis management."

My prayers go to those affected by the flood... "I have been in one too many way up in the North back in the day..."

But here is the larger picture.

Are we environmentally doomed? Are we at the eleventh hour of total environmental destruction? How devastating has the impact of carbon dioxide emissions been? How serious is the depletion of the ozone layer? How much of the rainforests of the world have been destroyed? How fast are the polar ice caps melting, speeding up the looming disaster of Armageddon/ Qiamat of humankind? How many more frequent, major flash floods must we endure?

‘Man should not have carved the stone’

The Chinese philosopher and mystic Lao Tzu once said, “Man should not have carved the stone”, meaning man should not have invented things for, “... as Man began carving the stone, the process of destruction begins”.

Light bulbs, automobiles, powerplants, factories, telephone lines, bombs and computers are inventions that have historically transformed nature. Human beings ‘carve the stone’ and build structures of power and wealth which transform or even rape Nature in the process.

Ancient philosophies and the teachings of ‘revealed religion’ (of the Judeo-Christian tradition) warned against the exploitation of the physical environment so that humanity would continue to be close to Nature and closer to the realisation of the Natural Self. Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and probably the most extreme of all Hindu sects, Jainism, teaches human beings to respect living things as part of the great chain of beings.

But Western scientific ideology has taught Man to be free from not only thinking about spirits and spirituality, nature and the natural self, religion and deep reflection, but has also ‘enlightened’ human beings into mastering Nature and using its resources for the ‘progress’ of mankind. Progress, measured linearly and scientifically, is then equated with ‘civilisation’.

I hope in 2015 and beyond do not talk too much about hudud and forbidding Muslims from saying “Merry Christmas” but to focus on realism and constantly finding ways to solve social problems and how to manage natural disasters better. Or at least to start learning what pragmatism and liberalism means and how to apply these concepts to the practice of our national daily lives.

I end this essay with these two quotes:

“We did not ask you white men to come here. The Great Spirit gave us this country as a home. You had yours. We did not interfere with you. The Great Spirit gave us plenty of land to live on, and buffalo, deer, antelope and other game. But you have come here, you are taking my land from me, you are killing off our game, so it is hard for us to live.

“Now, you tell us to work for a living, but the Great Spirit did not make us to work, but to live by hunting. You white men can work if you want to. We do not interfere with you, and again you say why do you not become civilised? We do not want your civilisation! We would live as our fathers did, and their fathers before them.” - Crazy Horse of the Sioux tribe

“I was just thinking that of all the trails in this life there is one that matters most. It is the trail of a true human being.” - Kicking Bird, (quote from the movie 'Dances With Wolves')

---

DR AZLY RAHMAN, born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in four areas: Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored six books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), a first Malay publication Kalimah Allah Milik Siapa?: Renungan dan Nukilan Tentang Malaysia di Era Pancaroba (2014), and Controlled Chaos: Essays on Mahathirism, Multimedia Super Corridor and Malaysia’s ‘New Politics’ (forthcoming 2014). He currently resides in the United States where he teaches courses in Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Political Science, and American Studies. Twitter, blog.

 

Hudud: Mahfuz gesa Kelantan beri taklimat

'PAS central committee never agreed to hudud Bill'

 

PAS central committee members said they never agreed to bring the Kelantan's Private Member's Bill on hudud to Parliament.

This means PAS-led Kelantan government may be doing more than what it is allowed to by PAS.

PAS’ central committee only agreed to the Kelantan government to work on the technicalities with the Umno-led federal government, they said.

The state government was then supposed to come back to the PAS central committee to present their findings.

Central committee members Mujahid Yusof Rawa (right), Dr Hatta Ramli and another member who preferred anonymity said that this was what was agreed.

"We had decided for the federal government to table the motion," Hatta said.

Hatta, who is Kuala Krai MP, also refuted Kelantan PAS state deputy commissioner Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah who said the state had the blessing of the PAS central committee.

Mohd Amar, the deputy chief minister of Kelantan, in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini said all PAS MPs are duty bound to bring the Private Member's Bill on hudud to Parliament, as the orders are coming from the party’s central committee.

We've yet to discuss it

Mujahid, who is Parit Buntar MP and PAS Unity Bureau chief said that Kelantan government did not get back to the central committee over discussions it had with the federal government.

"They were supposed to come back to us with the government-to-government discussions and then we (PAS central committee) were supposed to decide if we were to be the ones to bring the Private Member's Bill to the Parliament.

"In fact, in recent meetings, we were too busy with other issues that we did not even discuss hudud," Mujahid said.

Party deputy president Mohamad Sabu (left) was only willing to say that the hudud issue is still very much under discussion and that there is no decision on who will table it in Parliament.

The Kelantan government will hold a special state assembly sitting on December 29 to amend the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment 1993 before it is brought to the Parliament in a Private Member's Bill, to enable to state to implement the hudud.