#DalamBerita: Between image and religious obligation

-

KUALA LUMPUR – June 13, 2017: The debate on public caning for syariah offenders in Kelantan continues a day after the law was passed, with those against arguing that it will reflect poorly on the country’s moderate Islamic image.

On the other side, supporters say the punishment will in the long run make Malaysian society more responsible, intelligent and selfless.

The Kelantan legislative assembly yesterday passed amendments to the Syariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2002, which allow the Kelantan syariah court to decide whether an offender needs to be publicly caned for offences on sodomy, illicit sex, false accusation of illicit sex and consumption of alcohol.

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar of the Global Movement for a Just World said he was worried with the positive reception of public caning among many Malaysian Muslims, adding that Muslims could risk being seen as extremists.

He also cautioned that the idea of upholding Islam requires Muslims to support the implementation of syariah law that emphasises on punishment is becoming more widely prevalent worldwide.

“This problematic thinking exists in all parts of the Muslim world. But there’s more to Islamic law than just public caning.

“There’s Islamic law on environmental protection, commerce and agriculture. The Islamic jurisprudence is very rich and illustrious.”

According to Chandra, there are many beautiful principles and noble ideas from Islamic jurisprudence that are often eclipsed by the obsession in championing what are deemed as Islamic punishments.

Responding to Malaysian Muslims’ supposed obsession with Islamic punishments, lawyer Fatihah Jamhari from the Concerned Lawyers for Justice argued that critics should also see its positive side.

“Civil courts mostly administer caning in closed sessions whereby there is little check and balance to ensure procedures are followed through. Should there be any misdoing, the public is slow to find out.

Public caning, wrote Fatihah, can also keep the people on their toes because the embarrassment that comes with it will deter them from doing misdeeds.

“I am surprised no one actually spoke of the other aspects of the Kelantan bill. How about all the other improvements that are meant to keep up with technologies, like allowing video recordings as evidence?

“Those good improvements must be highlighted to show that syariah courts are also moving in line with the advancement of technology,” said Fatihah.

The amendment was also widely cheered in cyberspace.

“Praise be to God. Kudos to all the leaders in Kelantan who made this a reality,” wrote Facebooker Nor Azimah.

“I support this decision wholeheartedly! At least this punishment will help to reduce the crime rate in Kelantan,” wrote Siti Rohaya.

“The public caning session should also be aired on television so that more people will be afraid to commit the offences and then the community will be safer,” insisted Mohd Ihsan.

Those who are against the punishment argued that Islam does not allow anyone to be shamed in public.

“Please stop using Islam to justify this stupid punishment. Islam does not teaches its followers to publicly humiliate anyone,” argued Mijwad Abdul Wahab.

“Stop celebrating. We all know how weak the Pas-led Kelantan government is when it comes to enforcing the law. They can’t even enforce other laws properly and now they want to do this? Give me a break,” quipped Fadzli Kadir.

* Disiarkan dalam The Mole.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kebebasan Bersuara Yang Tidak Sama Rata (Unpublished 5 Jun 2017)

-
Di bawah adalah satu-satunya rencana yang ditendang keluar daripada penyiaran di ruang Cakna yang diniatkan untuk 05/06/2017: Aneh bagaimana Perkara 10 Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang memperuntukkan kebebasan bersuara dan sering kali dilaung-lolongkan oleh pihak yang kononnya membela hak asasi manusia di Malaysia, ternyata tidak pula dipakai secara sama rata. Hak dan kebebasan yang dimaktubkan hanya terpakai kepada kroni yang mereka anggap mewakili pandangan mereka sahaja. Sedangkan apabila kebebasan yang sama digunakan oleh pihak yang berada di luar lingkungan ‘elit’ mereka, maka kebebasan itu cuba untuk disekat dan dinafikan. Demikianlah yang berlaku dalam isu pandangan akademik seorang pensyarah, Dr. Kamarul Zaman Yusoff yang mengulas buku karangan seorang politikus DAP, Hannah Yeoh. Beliau telah menyampaikan pandangannya bahawa Hannah Yeoh telah secara salah dan bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan Persekutuan menggunakan jawatan awamnya untuk mendakyahkan fahaman mubaligh Kristi...
Read more

Menyusukan kera di hutan biarpun anak di rumah kebuluran! (Utusan Malaysia 12 Jul 2024)

-
Image
“ TAKTIK penjajahan jiwa yang terakhir yang dilakukan oleh bangsa-bangsa penjajah kepada negera-negara yang baru mencapai kemerdekannya adalah dengan membangkitkan keinginan hidup mewah. Kerana bila mana bertambah mewah hidup orang, bertambah pudarlah cita-citanya. Yang satu hendak melebihi yang lain dalam kemewahan. Kemewahan dalam membangunkan rumah-rumah, kemewahan dalam menghiasinya, kemewahan dalam memilih kenderaan, kemewahan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, ditambah lagi dengan berdirinya tempat bersenang-senang bagai cendawan tumbuh di musim hujan .” – Buya Hamka  Hairan saya dengan dasar-dasar yang dikeluarkan kerajaan mutakhir ini. Terkini kerajaan melalui Kementerian Pelancongan, Seni dan Budaya (MOTAC) mengumumkan kelonggaran syarat permohonan program Malaysia Rumah Kedua Ku (MM2H). Program yang diasaskan pada tahun 2002 di bawah kerajaan pimpinan Barisan Nasional telah dihentikan sementara pada tahun 2020 sebelum diteruskan dengan pindaan semula pada tahun 2021 di bawah ke...
Read more

Keadilan buat Penyewa – Tuan Rumah (Utusan Malaysia 7 Julai 2023)

-
Image
‘KEKUATAN sesebuah negara terhasil daripada keutuhan di rumah.’ – Confucius. Pada tahun 2018, dapatan kaji-selidik yang dijalankan oleh PropertyGuru Malaysia menunjukkan bahawa sentimen dominan di kalangan rakyat Malaysia memilih untuk memiliki kediaman sendiri berbanding menyewa. Namun trend pemilikan rumah dalam tahun 2022 dilihat tidak seimbang akibat kadar faedah yang dikenakan bank dilihat terlalu tinggi. Ini terserlah apabila ramai penduduk, khususnya di sekitar Lembah Klang memilih untuk terus menyewa berbanding membeli rumah sendiri. Pun begitu, terkini Laporan Pasaran Hartanah PropertyGuru Malaysia untuk suku tahun 2023 menunjukkan penurunan dalam Indeks Permintaan Jualan dan Indeks Permintaan Sewa. Kebimbangan utama apabila trend menunjukkan kerenjatan dalam kedua-dua pembelian dan sewaan kediaman ialah lambakan hartanah kosong di pasaran tanpa penghuni.  Meskipun isu ini telah dikenalpasti sejak tahun 2019 lagi apabila Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan ketika itu m...
Read more