Hudud: Kerajaan pusat serius, tubuh jawatankuasa teknikal

Beastly act: Women attacked with acid

Father says, one of the neighbours used to call his daughter and would threaten her. PHOTO: FILE

FAISALABAD / BAHAWALPUR: Two women were attacked with acid in separate incidents on Wednesday.

Police said Saima Bibi*, a resident of New Garden Town, had exchanged angry words with her husband over a domestic matter. Her husband and his brother then attacked her with acid.

Saima Bibi received burns and was taken to Allied Hospital.

Dr Umar Daraz, on duty at the Emergency Ward,said Saima Bibi had received serious burns on her back, shoulders and arms. He said they were providing her intensive treatment but her condition was critical.

Naseer Ahmad, a neighbour, said Saima Bibi had six children and was a school teacher. He said Saima Bibi was the sole bread winner and often used to argue with her husband over finances.

He said Saima Bibi had come home from school and got into an altercation with her husband. He got angry and he and his brother attacked her with acid. The men then fled.

Ahmad said neighbours gathered at their house after hearing Saima Bibi’s screams and took her to a hospital.

Raza Abad SHO Asim Rasheed said the police have registered a case against the men.

City Police Officer Dr Haidar Ashraf has formed two teams – one under Gulberg Deputy Superintendent Police Asadur Rahman and the other under Raza Abad SHO Asim Rasheed – to catch the culprits in 48 hours.

A 17-year-old was attacked with acid allegedly during a rape attempt. Police have arrested one of the suspects.

The girl’s father, a resident of Chak 104P near Rahim Yar Khan, told police that one of their neighbours used to call his daughter and would threaten her. He said his daughter had told him about the phone calls so he had visited the boy’s parents and complained to them.

He said on Tuesday night, his daughter had gone to the washroom when the boy and one of his friends overpowered her and tried to rape her. He said his daughter raised hue and cry and the boy threw acid at her and fled. He said he took his daughter to a hospital. Doctors said her face and neck had been badly burned and she was in a critical condition. Police registered a case against the two boys and arrested the neighbour. They are looking for his friend.

*NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT IDENTITY

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2014.

‘Bring non-Muslim heroes back in textbooks’

"The biased material in syllabuses is a major cause of the growth of religious intolerance and extremism in the country," Reverend Father Emanuel Yusaf. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: When Cecil Shane Chaudhry was in school, a chapter in the grade six Urdu textbook, titled Hamare Ghazi aur Shaheed [Our victors and martyrs], had a passage about his father, Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry, the celebrated Christian fighter pilot.

Shane is now executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a human rights advocacy organisation that was formed in 1985 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan.

“I felt very proud sitting in the classroom and studying about my own father but the passage has been removed from the textbooks,” said Shane at the round-table education discussion on curriculum reforms, organised by the commission at the Pearl Continental hotel on Wednesday.

“It is not just about one Cecil Chaudhry, it is about hundreds of Pakistani non-Muslims, the unsung heroes of all fields, from healthcare to education and from politics to development and defence,” said Shane, as he asserted that the basis of this ‘exclusion’ arose from the biased education policy adopted since the 1970s.

He added that this is encouraging hate speech, especially in the subjects of Islamic Studies, Urdu, English, History and Pakistan Studies. “These men gave their blood, their sweat and their tears to this country and they have now been forgotten.”

Shane then revealed that it can take up to Rs4,000 for someone to change their name on their Matriculation certificate but it is free for a convert who wanted to change their name. “How can our government institutions actually approve such discriminative practices that are tantamount to targeting religious minorities,” asked Shane.

Reverend Father Emanuel Yusaf, who was chairing the event, agreed with Shane. “The whole arrangement of textbooks is visibly discriminatory against non-Muslim citizens and is in violation of Articles 20 and 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan,” said Yusaf. “The biased material is a major cause of the growth of religious intolerance and extremism in the country.”

On the prevailing environment of fear and intimidation, lawyer and political activist Muhammad Jibran Nasir remarked that a dialogue on elimination of religious biases can take place inside a closed hall of the Pearl Continental hotel but not at Karachi Press Club. “As things stand, hardly anyone can stand up and openly criticise the government or even those who promote hate because if you do, you are labeled an agent of foreign agencies,” he said.

For Nasir, a child reading existing textbooks gets indoctrinated in a very subtle manner for the next 10 years of his life. “These textbooks present the religious minorities and their beliefs in a selectively negative manner,” he said. “It becomes inevitable for a child to have a very negative image about religions other than Islam.”

While presenting a historical analysis of religious and historical biases in the curriculum, educationist Prof Bernadette Dean recommended that the current education policy and curriculum should be reviewed to remove discriminatory and inflammatory materials and practices, especially those that target religious minorities.

“Besides imparting knowledge, schools should focus on educating students about universal humanity, the importance of human dignity and responsible citizenship,” she added.

Hope remains

However, Shane appreciated ‘a certain level of willingness’ in three political parties – the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party – to address the issue of curriculum reforms. “There is a lot that needs to be done and there is no quick fix for the indoctrination that has been going on since the 1940s, yet I would like to appreciate the fact that people in Sindh want such reforms.”

MQM MNA Muhammad Rehan Hashmi asserted that civil society, political parties and the media have to play their part and continuously highlight the issues so that a consensus can be achieved.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2014.

Malaysia, a nation of strangers

The raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia by Jais means all places of worship are subject to monitoring by Jais. That excessive authority bothers law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 2, 2014.Around the world, the walls of racial and religious separation are being dismantled, but in Malaysia, they are fortified by overzealous people, a constitutional law expert told a forum today.

Noting that racial and religious polarisation in Malaysia has reached alarming levels since the 90s, Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi said the country has become a "nation of strangers".

"Our children are being taught not to say 'Rest in Peace' to people of different faiths, they are told not to go houses of those of other religions, otherwise their faith will be threatened.

"Extremism has become mainstream and moderation is seen as capitulation to other races and religions, and as a betrayal of one's own community," he told some 20 law students at the forum organised by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) in Kuala Lumpur.

The forum was held to consult the youths on whether the replacement of the Sedition Act with the Harmony Act was the answer to restore unity in the country.

It was mooted by NUCC member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (pic), who is also Global Movement of Moderates chief executive officer.

Other speakers included Lim Chee Wee, the deputy chairman of NUCC's working committee on law and policy, and political secretary to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Vincent Wong.

In his speech, Shad pointed out that the Constitution, even in its ethnic provisions, sought to avoid extreme measures and provided for a balance between the interests of the Bumiputera and non-Bumi communities.

"Article 153 was about affirmative action for the weak and not about racial exclusiveness or racial superiority or ketuanan Melayu," he added.

"If we read about the making of the Constitution, we will see that our forefathers were animated by a remarkable vision and optimism of a shared destiny among the various people of the peninsula. They gave every community a stake in the nation. No group received an absolute monopoly of power or wealth."

However, in reality, the law professor said overzealousness prevailed and in some areas, racism has been institutionalised.

"Affirmative action under Article 153 has metamorphosed into something else that is not easily possible to defend under constitutional theory," said Shad, who is also Universiti Teknologi Mara's legal adviser.

"It is a selfish attempt to secure advantages for oneself under the guise of Article 153."

He said in the current situation, an incident that bothered him the most was the January 2 raid of the Bible Society of Malaysia by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), and seizure of 321 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia and Iban languages which contained the word 'Allah'.

"What bothers is me is this – it means that all places of worship are subject to monitoring by Jais. No one should be given this authority.

"As if fighting with other religions is not enough, we have to fight among ourselves," he said referring to hate campaigns against Muslims who are labelled liberals, deviationists and Shias.

On the Sedition Act, the law professor said the definition of the act was broad and does not distinguish between government and nation.

"Unconstitutional laws are the order of the day, but I think this law has to go. We need a new law to bring parties together through reconciliation," he added.

He, however, expressed optimism that the recent slew of racial and religious intolerance will pass.

"History never moves in a straight line. I am optimistic that this madness will not last. Whether or not it will sadly take an explosion for us to learn, I don't know, but it will pass," he said, citing a revamp to the educational system and criminalising hate speeches as suggestions to restore unity.

Meanwhile, Lim, a former Bar Council president, said the new law should encompass elements of intention to commit crimes motivated by race, religion and ethnicity.

He also stressed that equality was one of the most important themes of the new law, adding that the scale of public discourse is narrowing because of selective prosecution.

"There is, then, a need for a new law to address this," he added. – May 2, 2014.

Putrajaya, K'tan to form panel for hudud talks

 

The federal government and the Kelantan state government have agreed to form a technical committee on the implementation of hudud in Malaysia following a two-hour meeting between both sides today.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom, who represented the government during the meeting, said the committee will "digest" existing laws and provisions in the constitution for the implementation of the Islamic penal code.

PAS, which leads the Kelantan state government, is currently pushing for the implementation of hudud in the state, and was today represented by Deputy Menteri Besar Nik Amar Abdullah.

"We will also take into account the demands of the constitution and the non-Muslim community so that the beauty of the Islamic penal code can be seen, that it has a good start, and not be criticised," Jamil Khir said at the press conference today.

He said the technical team will take into account support by Umno MPs toward PAS’ proposed Private Member’s Bill on the implementation of hudud in Kelantan, to be table in Parliament.

“When we say we are prepared to support, it is a sign of our (Umno’s) seriousness and a sign for subsequent steps to be taken such as in explaining (hudud) to members of Parliament and society,” he said.

The Jerai MP also informed that the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will be appointed as secretariat while the Kelantan goverment and central PAS leadership are to suggest members to join the committee, which is yet to be given a name.

“If possible, we want out own technical (experts). If politicians, then the thinking will run along political lines,” he said.

He, however, refused to comment on MCA’s threat to form a human chain to prevent PAS from tabling the Bill in Parliament.

Meanwhile, viewing today’s development as “positive”, Nik Amar said his presence today was make an official stand as to the state’s government’s wish for hudud to be implemented.

Where is the justice in dealing with extremists?

 

In 2007 more than 50,000 Indian Malaysians gathered in Kuala Lumpur against Umno’s atrocities and discrimination. That was the golden year for the Hindraf movement. The demonstration was held on Nov 25, 2007. The demo showcased the anger of Indians in Malaysia about basic human rights violations of the Umno-led government.

The result of the demonstration led to five Hindraf leaders being arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) and one leader went into self-exile in Britain. One hundred and thirty six people were arrested and beaten up by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), many of whom were charged and hefty bail imposed on them by the courts.

The home minister, the inspector-general of police (IGP) and the attorney-general (AG) were working very hard to stop the uprising of Indian Malaysians. So many plans were implemented allegedly to suppress Indians from asking for their rights.

Then-law minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz, then-IGP Musa Hassan, attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, then-PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and then-home minister Syed Hamid Albar banned the human rights group on Dec 8, 2007 as an extremist group which allegedly had links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) of India.

All this was done under the plan of Umno’s intelligence to sideline the rights groups which were championing Indians in Malaysia.

In 2013 the party which sidelined the Hindraf rights group shook hands with the Hindraf leader to get cheap Indian votes. All those incidents are not forgotten by Indian Malaysians.

Recently the Free Malaysia Today news portal reported that five young Malay Muslims are fighting in the Syrian war. It was shocking news for all peace-loving Malaysians.

On the one hand, the Umno government is allegedly suppressing other races from getting their equal rights, but on the other hand Umno themselves are encouraging extremists like Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), Perkasa, Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah (Pekida) and the allegedly underworld-linked Tiga Line which operate legally in Malaysia. Where is the justice in dealing with extremists?

The growing terrorism inside Malaysia should be highlighted by the IGP, AG and home minister. It is a serious issue. Nothing to hide or pamper one race. If those who support LTTE can be considered as extremists or terrorists, what about those who join hands with terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and propagating terrorism silently? What is the future of those linked with terrorist groups and extremists in Malaysia?

We Malaysians are eager to know the truth from the Umno government. Umno must understand that their 57 years of ruling have made people extremists and broken up the social harmony between Malaysians.

Finally the IGP, AG and home minister should take stern action against those extremists and terrorists who are growing in Malaysia. We would like to see a peaceful Malaysia in another 30 years time. This is our strong opinion.

Ibrahim orang paling gembira Anwar akan ke penjara

Lagi cepat Anwar masuk ke penjara, lagi baik.

PETALING JAYA: Presiden Perkasa, Datuk Ibrahim Ali paling gembira kerana Ketua Umum PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan dimasukkan ke dalam penjara tidak lama lagi atas kesalahannya.

“Lagi cepat Anwar masuk ke penjara, lebih baik. Baik untuk rakyat dan juga negara, bahkan baik juga untuk pihak keselamatan kerana pening dengan karenah dan tingkah laku Anwar,” ujarnya dalam satu kenyataan kepada FMT.

Menurutnya, Anwar secara terang telah menghina mahkamah, tetapi pihak kerajaan tidak mengambil sebarang tindakan.

“Karenah Anwar menyebabkan pelbagai pihak susah hati, sehinggakan Amerika Syarikat terpaksa masuk campur.

“Tindakan Anwar itu menyebabkan kedaulatan negara terancam dan telah dimalukan kerana mempamerkan akhlak yang buruk, selain Anwar sering ikut hawa nafsu yang tidak terkawal,” katanya.

Ibrahim turut mempersoalkan tindakan Anwar yang sering melampaui batas.

“Anwar ingat Malaysia ini negara mak ayah dia yang punya, sehinggakan dia boleh buat sesuka hati dan seolah-olah dia kebal dari daripada sistem undang-undang negara. Semua orang tidak betul bagi Anwar kecuali dirinya.

“Saya berdoa, cepatlah Anwar ke penjara, sepertimana yang dia sendiri war-warkan, saya orang pertama yang gembira dan bersyukur.

“Mungkin saya akan adakan majlis kesyukuran sebaik sahaja Anwar ke penjara. Saya berpegang kepada prinsip keluhuran undang-undang dan perlembagaan yang merupakan salah satu prinsip Rukun Negara,” kata beliau lagi.

Ujar Ibrahim, Anwar awal-awal lagi telah membawa kesnya kepada rakyat bagi membolehkan rakyat bangun, bangkit membelanya.

“Tuduhan yang dilemparkan Anwar tetap sama iaitu Datu Seri Najib Razak dan Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor yang mengheret beliau ke penjara, konspirasi Barisan Nasional (BN), hakim tidak adil, dan bermacam-macam lagi,” ujarnya.

Pada masa yang sama, Ibrahim turut mempersoalkan layanan dan semangat keprihatinan masyarakat terhadap mangsa liwat Anwar iaitu bekas pembantu peribadi Anwar, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

“Bagaimana dengan nasib Saiful, tiada siapa yang peduli?” soalnya.

Bahkan Ibrahim turut merasa geli hati, kerana masih ada yang sokong, simpati dan mempercayai Anwar, tetapi Saiful dibiarkan.

“Akhirnya betullah, jerung nak dilepaskan, ikan bilis jadi mangsa. Sebagai kawan sewaktu tahanan pada tahun 1974 dan ditahan selama 2 tahun serta lama mengenali siapa Anwar sebenarnya, saya bersyukur dan gembira Anwar akan ke penjara atas kesalahan yang dilakukannya.”

Ibrahim berkata demikian bagi membalas kenyataan yang dikeluarkan sendiri oleh Anwar yang dalam ceramahnya mengatakan bahawa beliau akan dipenjarakan dalam tempoh satu bulan lagi.

Hal ini ekoran keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan yang memutuskan bahawa Anwar bersalah dan menjatuhkan hukuman lima tahun penjara.

Hudud: Kelantan people have rights too

A Muslim NGO tells hudud critics to hold their fire.

PETALING JAYA: A Muslim NGO today called on opponents of hudud to respect the right of Kelantan citizens to be ruled under it if they so wished.

“The language of human rights has crept into our consciousness in a way that was unimaginable two decades ago,” said Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, a board member of Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF).

“Maybe the people of Kelantan should be given the right to be governed with a law which they feel is integral to the practice of their religion.”

His comment came in the wake of opposition against a PAS move to table a private member’s bill in Parliament to pave the way for hudud implementation in Kelantan.

Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said the passage of the bill would enable the establishment of a Syariah Special Court and a Syariah Special Appeals Court.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has proposed the formation of a national technical committee to deliberate on the issue.

Non-Muslim based political parties as well as some Muslim quarters are against the PAS plan.

Addressing these detractors, Dr Musa pointed out that only Kelantan would be affected.

“After all, it is only a small part of the country and it happens that Muslims make up more than 95% of the population there,” he said.

“The most vociferous critics of the bill—leaders and members of DAP, MCA and Gerakan and Muslims of liberal persuasions in Kuala Lumpur—will be out of its jurisdiction anyway.”

Referring to disagreement between the Malaysian Medical Association and the Islamic Medication Association of Malaysia over the role of doctors in the amputation of limbs, Musa said the debate was “premature and inappropriate” because the alleged problem would arise only if Parliament passed the bill.

MH370: Accept reality and go home, relatives told

Next of Kin chairman Hamzah Zainuddin said that it is time for the relatives to be realistic before explaining that they have a week to move out of the hotel.

KUALA LUMPUR: It is time for the family members in Beijing to go home and wait for answers in their hometown, the next of kin committee chairman who is also the deputy foreign minister Hamzah Zainuddin said this evening.

Hamzah urged for all parties to be realistic and to accept reality before he proceeded to advise the Chinese family members that Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) are giving them a week to leave their rooms and not immediately as reported by foreign agencies.

“We have been waiting to come out with a statement and all of us are actually looking for answers. MAS has been supporting the family members in Beijing for the last 55 days,”

“It is about time for us to be realistic and accept reality. Family members should go back and wait for answers in their hometowns.”

“However, as mentioned yesterday, it is not immediate. It is from May 1 to May 7. The support centre will be closed down on May 7. How can you ask them to leave in a few hours,” Hamzah explained.

Yesterday, MAS announced that it was ending all hotel accommodation facilities for relatives of the MH370 passengers.

Today, relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 expressed anger after being told that they must suddenly leave their Beijing hotel, a day after the airline had said it would stop providing accommodation.

There was heavy police presence at the Lido Hotel in Beijing today, with dozens of uniformed officers inside.

Moving into a new stage

Meanwhile adding to what Hamzah said, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that they are now moving into a new stage, where all structures are in place to assist the family members of the ill fated MH370.

Hishammuddin disclosed that the authorities will soon announce the date for family members to travel to Australia.

“When the time comes, we will announce the date for the family members to travel to Australia,”

“We are now at the stage where the structures are in place. We are moving into a new phase and a complex stage,” he said.

About two-thirds of those aboard the missing MH370 which vanished from radar screens while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China on March 8, were Chinese nationals.

The plane is believed to have inexplicably diverted from its course and crashed in the Indian Ocean, however, a multi-nation search for plane wreckage has failed to turn up any evidence despite weeks of searching.

Skipping Friday prayers also an offence in Brunei

(AP) – Brunei citizens with immediate effect can be fined or jailed by Islamic courts for offences like
not performing Friday prayers, pregnancy out of wedlock, propagating other religions and indecent behaviour.

More severe punishments such as flogging, amputation of limbs and stoning for offences such as theft, adultery and sodomy will be introduced in phases over the next two years.

This followed the nation’s embracing of a form of Islamic Syariah criminal law that includes harsh penalties, a move slammed by international rights group as a step backward for human rights.

The tiny Southeast Asian nation began phasing in a version of Syariah that allows for penalties such as amputation for theft and stoning for adultery.

Most of the punishments can be applied to non-Muslims, who account for about one-third of the 440,000 people in the oil-rich country.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has introduced the law as a “great achievement” for Brunei.

“The decision to implement the (Syariah penal code) is not for fun but is to obey Allah’s command as written in the Quran,” he said in a speech Wednesday to announce the launch first phase of the law.

Human Rights Watch said the move was a “huge step backward for human rights” in Brunei.

“It constitutes an authoritarian move toward brutal medieval punishments that have no place in the modern, 21st century world,” said its deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson.

The US-based Human Rights Campaign, which promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, condemned the changes as “draconian,” saying the death penalty for gay sex, the eighth nation in the world to have such a law, was “horrific and sickening.”

Bolkiah has said he didn’t expect the international community to accept the law but urged them to respect Brunei’s decision.

Brunei is a conservative country where alcohol is banned and Muslim courts already govern family affairs.

Muslims in next door Malaysia are subject to a limited form of Islamic law that doesn’t include amputation or capital punishment, as does Aceh province on the western tip of Indonesia.

In general, the interpretation and practice of Islam in Southeast Asia is more liberal than in parts of the Middle East and South Asia.

Malaysia To Chop Off Hands?

All hands say aye

(Asia Sentinel) Pressure growing for medieval Islamic religious punishment

Malaysia appears dangerously close to instituting sixth-century religious law that would require amputation of hands or feet for theft, beheading or stoning for adultery and other crimes, and flogging for drinking or other offenses.

The issue of Islamic punishment has been kicking around for years, with little effect. But Hadi Awang, the head of Parti Islam se-Malaysia, or PAS is expected to table a private member’s bill in June when the Dewan Rakyat, or national parliament, reconvenes.

The bill would make Islamic law supreme in the eastern Malaysian state of Kelantan. However, the Malay-majority states of Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan appear ready to go ahead with or without parliamentary approval, political analysts say. Other Malay-majority states along the northern tier next to Thailand could follow.

Normally, an opposition bill would have no chance of passage in Malaysia’s parliamentary system. However, according to a source within the leading United Malays National Organization, UMNO members are facing a rising tide of demand for the feudal punishment.

That isn’t to say the bill will pass. Malaysia, for all of the religious fervor stirred up by both the opposition and the government over the past decade, remains a modern state in a region where such punishments would be met with disgust. Indonesia, the biggest Islamic state in the world, remains free of this kind of primitive retribution.

“PAS has captured the imagination of Malay Muslims generally and nobody wants to appear irreligious,” the source said. “Many UMNO members will vote for it for fear of being labeled bad Muslims. They are being taunted by PAS to support the bill.”

Hudud describes the punishments applicable under shariah, or Islamic law, usually referring to punishments that are considered to be "claims of God." They include theft, fornication (zina) and adultery or extramarital sex, drinking alcohol or other intoxicants, and apostasy. They do not include embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks or other corporate corruption.

“Malay Muslims have never tried hudud so regardless of crime rate statistics they want to give it a try because crime is already high,” the source said. “Eventually it will cover dress codes, everything.”
On the island of Borneo, the independent Sultanate of Brunei announced had introduced hudud on May 1, with most of the punishments applicable to non-Muslims as well, who make up about a third of the sultanate’s 450,000 people, an irony since the law likely will be applied only to common citizens in a principality where spectacular scandals have taken place in previous years in the palace itself and corruption is believed to be rife.

Women have testified in US and UK courts to having been virtually kidnapped and forced to act as sex slaves in the palace, said to be the biggest one on the planet, larger than the Vatican. A disco in the Empire Hotel regularly throbs with license reportedly including sex, drugs and rock n roll for the myriad children of the royal family. Nonetheless, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has called the introduction of the law “not for fun but to obey Allah’s command” and called it a “great achievement” for Brunei.
The prospect of the medieval punishment has been met in Malaysia with horror by the Malaysian Medical Association, which issued a statement saying it would kick out doctors who performed surgical amputations. However, a rival group of Muslim surgeons said they would cut off limbs.

Although the law would apply only to Muslims, it sets up the specter of a dual class of punishments, with a Chinese, Indian or other minority facing perhaps two months in jail for theft, for instance, and a Malay facing the prospect of losing his hand. Adultery in Malaysia is rarely punished today for any of the races. Under hudud, ethnic Malay would face death by stoning.

The decision by PAS to push for the punishment system holds the very real danger of splitting the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, whose other two members want no part of it. They are Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the moderate urban Malay party headed by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and the Democratic Action Party, made up largely of Chinese voters.

The Malaysian Chinese Association, a component of the ruling Barisan Nasional, has also spoken out against ratification, an indication that if it were to pass it would also split the ruling Barisan Nasional, further fracturing the country across racial lines, with the 60 percent Malays on one side and the min.11mority Chinese, Indians and others in the other camp. Gerakan Youth, also a component of a second Barisan Chinese party, also rejected implementation.

So far, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, having stood in the presence of President Barack Obama while Obama praised the country as a modern, moderate Malay society, has sent weak signals. He has said there would be no hudud in Malaysia but at a meeting of a religious group last week, Najib only said the federal government has never rejected implementation of hudud although there are “loopholes and shortcomings” that must be addressed. He called for a meeting of Islamic scholars to interpret shariah law to ”scrutinize and to exercise ijtihad (an Islamic term for independent reasoning) so that justice can be served.”

One of the puzzling aspects is the absence of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and other Malay moderates, who have not taken a stance on the issue. Khairy Jamaluddin, one of UMNO’s brightest new lights, and also a moderate, has also been silent.

Ironically, both the opposition and the ruling coalition are privately hoping for former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to step into the fray. During his 23-year- reign, Mahathir allowed the implementation of Islamic religious law, or Shariah, on a federal level in 1988, elevating the power of the Shariah court over Muslim family mattersand adding a clause to the Constitution that “Civil courts shall have no jurisdiction with respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Shariah Courts.”

Despite that, he kept a tight rein on Islamic fundamentalists, jailing them under the draconian Internal Security Act which allowed indefinite detention without trial when they got out of line. Two days ago, he accused the government of being weak, telling reporters that PAS had never played up the hudud issue when he was in office.

"Maybe PAS thinks the current government needs support, because during my time, we held absolute power with the two-thirds majority," Mahathir told reporters, saying PAS is attempting to implement hudud in Kelantan because they want to be popular and win votes.

"PAS is doing this just to gain political mileage, it is not about Islam," he said.
Mahathir still maintains considerable clout within UMNO. It remains to be seen how he would use his influence to defuse the issue. But many are hoping he does.

GLC dominance disproves Dr M’s claim of non-Malay stranglehold, says DAP MP

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 ― The economic dominance of government-linked corporations (GLCs) negates Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s assertion of a non-Malay monopoly over the country’s wealth, a DAP MP said yesterday.

Swatting aside Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed's claims of Chinese dominion over the country’s wealth and Indian command of its professions to justify pro-Bumiputera affirmative action, Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong argued that GLCs masked the community’s true control on the economy.

“Look at most of the private hospitals, any of the big ones you can name. Take Subang Jaya Medical Centre, that is owned by Sime Darby,” he said, referring to the now renamed Sime Darby Medical Centre.

“Prince Court, which is the country's most expensive hospital, is owned by Petronas. Pantai hospital and Gleneagles are owned by Kazanah through its subsidiaries.

Sime Darby and Petronas are both state-owned corporations while Khazanah Nasional is state asset manager; these and other GLC’s come under the control of the government headed by Malay nationalist party Umno.

A steadily growing force since the Mahathir administration, GLCs such as Khazanah Nasional, Sime Darby and DRB-Hicom have amassed overflowing war chests and built networks that far surpass that which smaller firms and start-ups can muster.

Putrajaya estimates that firms linked to it employ around 5 per cent of the national workforce, and hold 36 per cent market capitalisation of Bursa Malaysia and 54 per cent of the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) respectively.

On Wednesday, Dr Mahathir defended pro-Bumiputera policies championed by the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, after US President Barack Obama said Malaysia will not prosper if minority groups continue to be marginalised, during his first visit to the Southeast Asian country over the weekend.

The country's longest-serving prime minister said at a press conference that despite preferential treatment for the Bumiputera, the Chinese and Indian communities have had more than enough space to build their wealth and establish themselves in professional lines such as doctors and lawyers.

Liew said it was misleading for Dr Mahathir to claim that the non-Malays flourished under the BN's affirmative action policy, arguing that even the majority of the Bumiputera themselves did not benefit.

GLCs were established as part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s affirmative action policies for Bumiputera citizens under the New Economic Policy (NEP), but its effectiveness has been questioned even by those it is meant to help ― Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

The DAP lawmaker also stressed that the racial breakdown of the country's wealthiest citizens is in no way a reflection of the living standards of ordinary Malaysians.

“I think the whole problem with Mahathir is he is reading it from a race and elite perspective. He looks at the top and think every group has a fair share, forgetting the people who are suffering at the bottom.

“Let's admit it. Most Malays are poor, most Indians are poor, many Chinese are also poor. The people in Sabah and Sarawak could live a much better life if the system is not against them... the gap between the rich and poor is huge in Malaysia,” he said.

Liew said Dr Mahathir's argument for race-based economic policies should be relegated to the past if Malaysians want to put an end to crony capitalism.

“The problem is that in the name of the Bumiputera, everyone else suffered. The majority of Bumiputera are not helped by the system, nor are they given a chance to succeed.

“Today we are in a situation where we should put forward a new argument, not a 1920s argument. Mahathir has been saying the same thing since 1947 when he started his column in the Straits Times in Singapore, but he has never helped the poor Malays.

“Whatever he says needs serious scrutiny,” Liew said, while calling for a non-racial discussion of economic inequality.

Malaysia’s Bumiputera majority enjoys privileges under a system of preferential treatment in jobs, housing and access to government funding.

Among others, these have been blamed for Malaysia’s chronic brain drain that has seen its non-Malay communities leaving the country, with southern neighbour Singapore the main beneficiary.

Hudud - test for the Constitution

The Star
Reflecting On The Law BY SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

There are provisions for the federal legislature to authorise Kelantan to implement its Islamic criminal enactment.

PARTI Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) appears determined to introduce a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament this June to implement its Syariah Criminal Code Enactment of 1993. The Enactment had, two decades ago, sought to apply hudud, the Islamic penal code, to Muslims in Kelantan. However, it could not be implemented due to many constitutional hurdles.

Federal-state division: First, under Schedule 9, List II, Paragraph I, States have authority relating to “creation and punishment of offen­ces by persons professing the religion of Islam, except in regard to matters included in the Federal List”.

Criminal law and procedure, administration of justice, jurisdiction and powers of all courts, creation of offences in respect of any of the matters included in the Federal List or dealt with by federal law are in federal hands. Theft, robbery, rape, murder, incest and unnatural sex are all dealt with by the federal Penal Code. These offences are, therefore, out of bounds for the States even though they are also serious wrongs in Islamic criminal jurisprudence.

Second, Schedule 9, List II, Paragraph 1 clearly provides that Syariah Courts shall have jurisdiction only over persons professing the religion of Islam.

This means that Syariah Courts have no power to apply the hudud laws to non-Muslims even if the non-Muslims consent to be so subject. Jurisdiction is a matter of law and not of submission or acquiescence.

Third, the Constitution in Schedule 9 List II para 1 says that Syariah Courts “shall not have jurisdiction in respect of offences except in so far as conferred by federal law”.

The relevant federal law is the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965. It imposes limits on penalties that the Syariah Courts can impose. These are maximum three years jail, RM5,000 fine and six lashes. Death by stoning, amputations and life imprisonments are outside the powers of the States.

Fourth, police, prisons, reformatories, remand homes and places of detention are all in the Federal List. Therefore, State-run detention or rehabilitation centres enforcing hudud penalties are all beyond State powers.

New momentum: PAS is hoping that these significant hurdles can be overcome if it takes the battle to the federal Parliament and gets the federal legislature to authorise Kelantan to implement its Islamic criminal enactment. Indeed, such provisions exist.

Article 76A: This Article permits the Federal Parliament to extend the legislative power of the States to enact laws on matters in the Federal List. This means that if the political equation is favourable, the Federal Parliament could by a simple majority pass an Act to authorise Kelantan to enact laws on crimes in Kelantan. The Kelantan law would then supersede any federal law on the point. In addition, under Article 80(4), the federal government can by law extend the executive authority of the State to cover the authorised federal topic.

Private Member’s Bill: Perhaps Kelantan intends to initiate a Private Member’s Bill to launch the Article 76A initiative. Private members are those MPs not holding ministerial posts. They may, under Standing Orders of the two Houses, draft a Bill and seek leave of the House by way of a motion to introduce the Bill.

If leave is granted, then the Bill shall be referred to the Minister concerned. With his report, the Bill can be taken up for second reading, debate and vote.

Such a Bill requires a simple majority of those present and voting. With 21 MPs from PAS, 88 from Umno and some Muslim MPs from PKR and Sabah and Sarawak, the Bill could squeeze through. The political dynamics is, of course, immensely complicated.

Constitutional crevices: Presuming that PAS succeeds under Article 76A to make inroads into the Federal List or through a Private Member’s Bill to legislate for criminal law in Kelantan, will the hudud issue be settled once for all? No one with knowledge of constitutional law will argue that the issue is straightforward and simple. Even if the State Enactment is passed, it may be challengeable in a court on constitutional grounds.

For example, if the State law on crime is made applicable only to Muslims and two thieves, one a Muslim and the other a non-Muslim, on conviction receive radically different penalties, is this not a flagrant violation of the rule of equality before the law under Article 8?

Article 8 forbids differentiation between persons on the ground of religion “except as expressly authorised by this Constitution”. There is an exception in Article 8(5) in relation to personal law. “This Article does not invalidate or prohibit any provision regulating personal law”.

Matters of theft, robbery, rape, incest and homosexuality are by no stretch of imagination matters of personal law. This means that it is arguable that our Constitution does not permit two thieves, similarly situated, to be treated differently for purposes of the law relating to punishment.

Alternatively, the Kelantan hudud law could apply to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In such a case, constitutional objections will arise that our Constitution does not permit the syariah to be imposed on non-Muslims.

It would be different, of course, if Malaysia were a full-fledged Islamic state. Then the hudud or any other uniform criminal law would apply to all.

Which leads one to the perennial polemic about whether Malaysia is an Islamic or secular state? The issue is immensely complicated and cannot be covered here in detail save to say that we have a supreme Constitution. The syariah applies in only a limited (though expanding) field and only to Muslims.

Any change to this arrangement will ne­­­ces­­­s­i­­tate radical amendments to many provisions of the Constitution, require special two-third majorities in both Houses, consent of the Conference of Rulers and consent of the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak.

It is clear that the PAS attempt to secure the enforcement of its 1993 Islamic criminal law is part of its broader aspiration of an Islamic state. There are many slippery slopes and constitutional conundrums.

Shad Faruqi, Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM, is a passionate student and teacher of the law who aspires to make difficult things look simple and simple things look rich. Through this column, he seeks to inspire change for the better as every political, social and economic issue ultimately has constitutional law implications. He can be reached at prof.shad.saleem.faruqi@gmail.com. The views expressed here are entirely his own.

Hudud punishes poor thief but ignores grand corruption, says former TNB chief

Former corporate icon Tan Sri Ani Arope has joined the debate over hudud’s suitability to modern-day Malaysia, highlighting the disparity of the Islamic penal code’s severe punishment for common theft but silence over grand corruption.

Posting on his personal Facebook page yesterday, the man who ran national energy utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) from 1990 to 1996 said the discrepancy suggested that the Islamic code opposition party PAS is attempting to enforce in Kelantan merits further examination.

“If a destitute (person) picks up a can of milk for his starving baby in a supermarket and walks out without paying, under the [divine law] ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ he gets his hands chopped off.

“But a man with power and authority awards contracts and gets kickbacks and commissions will not suffer the same fate as the man who took a can of milk. We need to study this in depth and with the times,” he wrote in his post.

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.

While corruption is considered sinful in the religion, its criminal system does not prescribe specific punishments for the act despite the greater implications of grand corruption versus petty theft.

Malaysia fights a perennial battle against corruption that has seen it form the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and formalise the country’s efforts against graft as part of Putrajaya’s National Key Results Area (NKRA) for its Government Transformation Programme (GTP).

In the recently released Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International, the country came in 53rd in a list of 177 countries or one rung better than it managed before.

Aside from the discrepancy he pointed out, responses to Ani’s post yesterday also revealed the confusion and misconceptions that surround hudud law.

Despite his assertion that the shoplifting parent would lose his hands for the theft, a Facebook user pointed out that punishment in hudud operated on a sliding scale depending on the severity of the offence and the strength of the conviction, as well as the circumstances of the crime.

“[Tan Sri], this is incorrect, stealing during famine or starvation is not considered theft and therefore would not get one’s hand chop off [sic],” a user posting under the name Rahmi Deraman said in response.

Another concurred, saying that the value of the item stolen was taken into consideration when punishment was meted out.

PAS is planning to table two private members’ bills that will allow it to enforce hudud in Kelantan; one seeks punishments for crimes under hudud as part of the Penal Code while another seeks to empower the Shariah courts to mete out the sentences.

But the attempt to enforce an Islamic version of criminal law that overlaps with the existing Penal Code has raised questions over the role of Islam in secular Malaysia.

Civil lawyers contend that hudud is unconstitutional as it would lead to discrimination based on religion.

Questions over the possible jurisdictional nightmares also abound as overlaps between the civil courts that apply universally and the shariah system that is restricted to Muslims already demonstrate the crossover that occurs despite assertions that Islamic law does not affect non-Muslims.

MH370: Government Carrying Out Detailed Discussions With Malaysian Commercial Entities

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Bernama) -- The government is currently carrying out "detailed discussions" with four Malaysian companies regarding the deployment of specialised assets in the new deepwater search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 aircraft.

Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the discussions were being carried out with SapuraKencana Petroleum, Petronas, Boustead Holding Berhad and DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DefTech) for the utilisation of their assets.

The assets included the autonomous unmanned vehicles (AUVs), deep water towed side scan sonars, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and support vessels, Hishammuddin told a media conference on MH370 here today.

He said: "It is important for all Malaysian entities involved in this effort to be on the same page working as one team, flying the Malaysian flag to find MH370."

On the international investigation team led by the Department of Civil Aviation's former director-general Datuk Kok Soo Chon, he said the team had commenced investigations on the incident as stipulated by the Terms of Reference laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organistaion (ICAO).

"The investigation team has convened five times so far, and progress will be reported in due course," noted Hishammuddin.

The investigation team comprises representatives from the United States National Transport Safety Board; Britain's Air Accidents Investigations Branch; and, China's Aircraft Accident Investigation Department.

Other members of the team include representatives from France's Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau, Australia Transport Safety Bureau, aircraft manufacturer Boeing and British satellite communications company, Inmarsat.

On April 23, Malaysia announced the formation of the team aimed at evaluating, investigating and determining the actual cause of the incident to ensure that similar incidents do not recur.

Flight MH370, with 239 passengers and crew on board, left the KL International Airport at 12.41am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later, while over the South China Sea. It was to have arrived in Beijing at 6.30am on the same day.

A multinational search was mounted for the plane, first in the South China Sea and then, after it was learnt that the plane had veered off course, and ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

It has now been 56 days since it went missing, with search operations lasting over seven weeks, thus far.

10 contributions of non-Muslims to Malaysia

Obtuse. Dense. Ignorant. Stupid. Choose any one of these words to describe Isma and you would be spot on.

This government-sponsored organisation yesterday argued that non-Muslims have no right to get involved in any discussion on hudud and even had the temerity to question the contributions of non-Muslims
to Malaysia.

Here are just 10:

1) Non-Muslims form a significant bloc of tax-payers and this tax revenue allows the government to spend, spend and spend on frivolous and dangerous causes such as Perkasa and Isma.

2) Guess who gave the country of 29 million its only medals at the last Olympics in 2012: Lee Chong Wei (pic) and Pandalela Rinong.

3) Guess who is a renowned Malaysian shoe-maker whose name is a world-famous label: Jimmy Choo.

4) Who was the first Malaysian to climb to the summit of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest? M. Magendran in 1997.

5) Guess who blazed the way in competitive motorsports for Malaysia? Yoong Yin Fah in motor racing, his son Alex Yoong in F1 and Karamjit Singh in rallying.

6) Guess who is the top-ranked squash player in the world? Nicol Ann David (pic).

7) Guess who started tin-mining in the Malay peninsula that was the basis of its earlier wealth until the 1980s? The Chinese in the 1820s.

8) Guess who brought the first rubber seedlings that was also the basis of wealth in the then British Malaya in the early 1900s? H.N. Ridley.

9) Guess who directed the first Malay-language movie, 'Leila Majnun', that became the start of the Malayan and Malaysian film industry that ironically began in Singapore? BS Rajhans.

10) Guess who led the architecture and design team for the iconic Masjid Negara, Malaysia's national mosque? UK architect Howard Ashley, together with Hisham Albakri and Baharuddin Kasim. – May 2, 2014.

Hudud: Najib, Anwar stop your ‘wayang kulit’, slams Waytha

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2: HINDRAF calls upon the leadership of the both the political divide to take an assertive action collectively by publicly opposing the Hudud bill as it contradicts the constitution of the country and restore the international and public confidence.

Its chairman P. Waytha Moorthy said, “The attempt by PAS in initiating the Hudud, the reluctance of (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib Tun Razak and (Opposition Leader Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim to come forward publicly to oppose such bill clearly sends a negative message to the public on the wavering and “wayang kulit” position of the leadership quality in Malaysia.

“The act by PAS is illegal and should be challenged by the AG’s department as it is contrary to the Federal Constitution as it originally stood for a plural society such as us.

“Any inaction by the current administration will only depict their weakness in governing the country by acceding to the further corrosion of the Federal Constitution,” the human rights lawyer said in a statement to The Malaysian Times (TMT).

Waytha, who is a former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, added: “The politicians reluctant to come out with a clear stance on PAS’s intended HUDUD bill reflects their selfish attitude in protecting their vote base oppose to work in the interest of the public at large.

“None of the top Malay Muslim leadership has made a clear and unequivocal stand on this provoking issue amongst the Malaysians,” said Waytha.

He said PAS’ role in bulldozing through this law raises pertinent questions and suspicion on the objective of the opposition party if they are to come into power and the repercussion to the non-Muslim as well women in Malaysia.

“The proposed bill is flawed constitutionally as it is against Article 8 of the Constitution which accords equal protection of the law to all its citizens.

“The Syariah Courts are invested with jurisdiction over persons professing the religion of Islam and in respect of any of the matters enumerated in list II of the State List of the Ninth Schedule to the Federal Constitution.

The state does not have the legal authority to pass any criminal law as it is clearly under the purview of the Federal power. Besides it discriminates and oppresses against the Constitutional rights of Muslims as well overstep into the rights of the Non-Muslims community.

“Are our leaders abandoning their allegiance of protecting the Constitution?” he asked.

“We have seen enough melodramas and lopsided justice that has been prevailing against the non-Muslims over the last 25 years through civil syariah law enforcement that continues to tear the social fabric of the nation without an amenable solution in near sight,” he stressed. -TMT