Archive for category Islam
Going beyond the obvious in hudud discourse
Posted by Kit in Islam, Law & Order, PAS on Wednesday, 25 March 2015
By Wong Chin Huat
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015
COMMENT There is perhaps no political debate more mislabelled and misleading in Malaysia than that of the so-called “hudud” law.
Hudud, an Arabic word, is the plural form of hadd (had in Malay), which means ‘limit’. It refers to fixed punishments mentioned in the Quran for certain crimes.
Section 4 of Kelantan’s Syariah Criminal Code II (1993) 2015 listed six types of crimes: sariqah (theft), hirabah (robbery), zina (adultery), qazaf (accusation of adultery without four credible witnesses), syurb (intoxication), and irtidad/riddah (apostasy).
The same is listed in Section 4 of Terengganu’s Syariah Criminal Offences (Hudud and Qisas) Enactment 2002 [Enakmen Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Hudud Dan Qisas) 2002].
The Brunei Syariah Penal Code Order 2013 lists two more types of crimes: zina bil-jabar (non-consensual adultery) and liwat (sodomy).
The most well-known of hudud punishments are stoning to death for adultery, and amputation for theft and robbery. Read the rest of this entry »
Stoning law sees Umno, PAS chase Islamic vote
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, UMNO on Wednesday, 25 March 2015
By Bloomberg
Malaysiakini
Mar 23, 2015
Six months after Prime Minister Najib Razak stood before the United Nations and urged Muslims worldwide to be moderate in their religion, members of his own party are supporting a law that punishes adulterers with death and thieves with amputation.
Lawmakers from Najib’s Umno joined the opposition PAS to pass Islamic criminal law, or hudud, in the opposition-held state of Kelantan. The move has drawn criticism from other parties in their respective coalitions, while human rights groups say it’s an unconstitutional step for secular Malaysia.
Umno officials are burnishing their Islamic credentials to safeguard support among the ethnic Malay majority after the coalition retained power in 2013 by the narrowest margin since independence. The swing by Najib’s party to the right risks worsening race relations at a time economic growth is forecast to slow.
“What Umno and PAS are doing on hudud is not about Islam, it is about politics and staying in power,” said Noraini Othman, a retired sociology professor who co-founded a group promoting progressive views of Islam.
“Religious indoctrination has created extremist voices in these parties, in these governments, that have succeeded in becoming louder while the so-called moderates are now a silent majority.” Read the rest of this entry »
Seeing through the hudud controversy
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Wednesday, 25 March 2015
By Liew Chin Tong
Malaysiakini
Mar 23, 2015
MP SPEAKS First of all let me stress that Muslims have the right to believe in hudud law. I respect that right, as much as I believe Muslims respect the rights of people of other faiths.
However in the case of the Kelantan hudud enactment, it is more than just a legal matter but rather as a political ploy meant to eliminate the progressives in PAS and to break Pakatan Rakyat in the process.
Worse than that, albeit unintentionally, the bickering and anger arising from the fiery emotional arguments could tear the nation apart.
The end game for those who designed the plot is to draw the battle line along a ‘Muslims versus non-Muslims’ conflict. Read the rest of this entry »
Who is really insulting hudud?
By Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
Malaysiakini
Mar 24, 2015
COMMENT Over the past few days, the mainstream media has highlighted the case of a “penghina hudud” (hudud insulter) from radio station BFM who subsequently received death and rape threats. Most of the news failed to put the concept of “insulting hudud” or “insulting Islam” in the proper perspective.
In this comment piece, I would like to ask who is actually insulting hudud by analysing the content of four YouTube videos – that of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Nur Jazlan Mohamad, Ahmad Farouk Musa and BFM’s Kupas clip.
The first video I would like to “kupas” (analyse) is the video of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir. This video is an excerpt from an Astro Awani news clip where Mahathir was quizzed on PAS’ hudud.
He said PAS’ hudud was not fair because if a Muslim steals, his hand will be cut off, but if a non-Muslim steals he will only be jailed for two months. He add that “in the future all Muslims will have no hands.”
Now let us ask ourselves, is Mahathir an insulter of hudud? An ustaz from PAS, in the same video, argued that Mahathir has indeed insulted hudud. I am of the view that Mahathir did not. Read the rest of this entry »
Selepas 22 tahun ‘Hudud PAS’ jadi ‘Hudud sebenar’
Mohsin Abdullah
The Malaysian Insider
24 March 2015
Kenyataan Tun Musa Hitam Sabtu lalu (21 Mac) mengesahkan apa yang selama ini ramai “syak” (atau sedia maklum?) iaitu Umno ttidak pernah berminat melaksanakan hukum hudud di negara ini.
“Sebagai seorang bekas penganjur Umno, saya penuh percaya yang hati sanubari Umno sejak ditubuhkan hingga sekarang berpendirian hudud tidak sesuai bagi Malaysia yang berupa negara majmuk berbagai keturunan dan agama ini “.
Jelas bukan? Kata kata bekas timbalan presiden Umno itu.
Pun begitu, Umno pintar menyuarakan hujah bahawa “kami bukan tidak mahu hudud tetapi masanya belum sesuai untuk dilaksanakan “. Lantas “ia perlu dikaji“.
Walaupun tidak menegaskan bila masa yang sesuai untuk hudud, hujah seperti itu menyaksikan Umno ,”terlepas” daripada dituduh “tidak Islamik” atau “anti perundangan Islam”. Sekali gus terus menambat hati sebilangan besar pengundi Melayu.
Dan apabila PAS, pada 1993, membentangkan Enakmen Jenayah Syariah II di dewan undangan negeri Kelantan, Umno tetap “terlepas” daripada dituduh “anti undang undang Islam “ dan “ tidak Islamik”.
Caranya dengan melabelkan enakmen yang dibentang PAS itu sebagai “hudud PAS“ dan bukan “hudud Islam sebenar“. Oleh kerana perundangan itu pada hemat Umno “bukan hukum Allah sebenar”makaia “tidak patut disokong”. Read the rest of this entry »
Attack on Aisyah proves stupidity
Posted by Kit in Islam, Mariam Mokhtar, women on Tuesday, 24 March 2015
By Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Mar 23, 2015
It takes a brave Malay woman to say what the whole nation is thinking, and it is amazing how many Malay men cannot wait to show the world the ugly face of the Malay psyche.
The threats of physical violence and rape on BFM host Aisyah Tajudin, for her satirical take on the Kelantan hudud law, have proven that despite receiving the ‘best education in the world’, many Malays remain shallow, servile and seriously stupid. Only insecure, egotistical Malay men would feel threatened, not just by the truth, but by a woman, and worse still, a Malay woman.
The rakyat’s problem is that Malaysia’s religious men aspire to become politicians, and its politicians pretend to be religious men.
The latest hudud debacle has very little to do with religion. It is about power. Power over the Malays in Malaysia. Power to overcome any non-Malay resistance. And power to crush any opposition, especially from progressive Malays, who represent the biggest threat. Read the rest of this entry »
Hudud, a cause for hubris and hypocrisy
COMMENTARY BY JAHABAR SADIQ, EDITOR
The Malaysian Insider
23 March 2015
Justice or hubris, democracy or hypocrisy, these are the questions cropping up as hudud laws make their regular appearance in the Malaysian political and legal landscape.
If you read or listen to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, and even self-confessed PAS progressives such as Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, you get the impression that hudud has a place in Malaysian society.
Fact is, even Umno politicians, with the exception of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will find it hard to disagree with their political opponents in PAS.
And Muslims themselves have to confront the fact that the Quran does speak of such criminal laws and punishments. Read the rest of this entry »
Mengapa saya menolak ‘hudud PAS’
– Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
23 March 2015
Apabila saya diajukan soalan sama ada saya akan menyokong atau tidak rang undang-undang persendirian yang bakal dibawa PAS ke Parlimen bagi membenarkan pelaksanaan Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah II 1993 di Kelantan, saya memberikan jawapan yang tegas dan jelas – tidak.
Keputusan saya itu berdasarkan ketetapan parti dan lebih penting lagi adalah pendirian saya sebagai seorang ahli Parlimen yang mewakili rakyat Malaysia.
Namun, saya dikecam dengan pelbagai tomahan dan celaan kononnya saya menafikan hukum Allah, bersekongkol dengan kafir, mengkhianati Islam dan sebagainya.
Sama ada mereka yang mencaci saya itu benar-benar Muslim yang mencari keredhaan Allah itu saya kurang pasti, tetapi dari segi akhlak dan kesopanan mereka saya agak ragu.
Bagaimanapun, izinkan saya menerangkan mengapa saya menolak rang undang-undang hudud yang mahu dilaksanakan oleh PAS ini. Read the rest of this entry »
Govt must respond to Musa’s call on hudud
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Monday, 23 March 2015
Ramon Navaratnam
Free Malaysia Today
March 23, 2015
Umno’s near silence on whether it supports hudud or not is causing grave uncertainty as to the future of Malaysia.
COMMENT
Former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam probably reflected the deep concerns of Malaysians when he said he was “disappointed with Umno for not making its stand on hudud clear”.
A significant number – perhaps even a majority – of thinking Malaysians have long been expecting the Umno-led government to come out unequivocally on this vital issue. Its near silence is causing national anxiety and grave uncertainty as to the future of our country.
As Musa correctly pointed out, this is a national issue “with far reaching implications to the country, both domestically and internationally”.
Confidence at home and abroad can dramatically decline as Malaysians see themselves at the crossroads of their destiny. We all ask whether we will continue to adopt secular ways to go forward or take the hudud highway and perhaps go backwards?
These uncertainties will also probably cause a further weakening of the ringgit, an increase in capital outflows, a worsening of the brain drain and even a rise in inflation. Read the rest of this entry »
Musa Hitam is both right and wrong when he said that opposition parties in PR should not pretend they are surprised with PAS’ hudud bill
I welcome the open and forthright position taken by former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam that UMNO should make a stand that hudud is not suitable for a country like Malaysia, that it should not try to out-PAS PAS.
He said: “As a former Umno leader, I strongly believe in my heart that since its establishment until today, Umno’s stance too has been that hudud is not suitable for a multi-religious, multi-racial country like Malaysia.”
Warning that UMNO could set on a course of “self-destruct”, Musa said that if he was wrong about UMNO’s stand on hudud, Umno should make a decision on its stance immediately and not brush off the matter.
Musa said opposition parties in Pakatan Rakyat should not pretend that that they are not aware and surprised with PAS’ hudud bill as the party had been championing the issue consistently for a long time.
Musa is both right and wrong when he said that DAP and PKR should not pretend that we are surprised with PAS’ hudud bill.
The Joint Statement of the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council of 28th September 2011 acknowledged that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1993 and the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment 2003 were passed before the formation of Pakatan Rakyat, but took the clear position that while it was unreasonable to require PAS to abandon the agenda, the three PR component parties would give priority to the PR Common Policy Framework and that all policies involving PR and their implementation must have the agreement of all three parties. Read the rest of this entry »
Make a stand now on hudud, Musa Hitam tells Umno
The Malaysian Insider
21 March 2015
Umno should make a stand now on PAS’s hudud and not pretend to be surprised with the Islamist party’s push for the implementation of the Islamic criminal law in Kelantan, says Tun Musa Hitam.
The former deputy prime minister said hudud is not suitable for a country like Malaysia, expressing his disappointment over Umno’s slow response on the issue.
“I am disappointed that Umno appeared to be shocked (by PAS’s move) and until now have yet to decide on its stance. I have been worried about this for some time,” he said in a statement from Cordoba, Spain.
“Umno must take a firm stance. This national issue has a very long implication to the country, both domestically and internationally,”
He said as Umno could not afford to be seen as trying to outdo PAS on this issue.
“Don’t try to be more PAS than PAS themselves. Umno should not be trying to out-PAS PAS!”, he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Umno cave in to PAS’ hudud?
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Saturday, 21 March 2015
By P Ramasamy
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015
ADUN SPEAKS Whether the BN component parties have reached a consensus or not to support PAS’ private member’s hudud bill later in Parliament remains to be seen.
Prime Minister Najib Razak might have said that hudud law might contravene the constitution, but then in politics, with shifting alliances and double-deals, anything is possible.
Just like the way PAS has backstabbed DAP and PKR, even though hudud was not within the framework of Pakatan’s common policy.
Even if the private member’s bill does not get the support of the BN component parties including Umno, fact remains that PAS has already successfully passed the amendments at the Kelantan state assembly with the support of 12 Umno members and one from PKR. How PKR is going to deal with this “sore thumb” remains to be seen. Read the rest of this entry »
Take action against those who make threats online
– Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
21 March 2015
“I want to meet her too… I haven’t punched anyone in a long time… Who cares if anyone calls me a cuckold for hitting a woman… she should die.”
Above is one of the many comments targeted at Aisyah Tajuddin. I have one simple question to ask: does this comment enrage you? If it doesn’t, then you are misogynistic, which simply means you hate women. If you don’t understand what misogyny is and find the video anti-Islamic without even viewing the entire video, then that simply means you suffer from a deficit of intellectualism and that, my friend, can lead to destructive consequences.
The BFM video that sparked a mass hysteria of misplaced vitriol showcased the ugliness of the Malay/Muslim siege mentality. The video has since been taken down but the after-effects that continue to linger will forever haunt the rest of us. The numerous hate-filled threats on social media solidify the fact that online misogyny is equally disturbing and must be taken seriously. What makes these comments worse is the anonymity cyberspace provides for these cyber-bigots to troll around ruthlessly. Read the rest of this entry »
MCA’s hudud stand – the mouse that squeaked
By Koon Yew Yin
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015
COMMENT Why is it that politicians in Malaysia finally talk some sense when they become ex-politicians? I am referring to Dr Chua Soi Lek, former MCA president, who since his departure from the leadership position, has been talking more sense than before.
In fact, so much so that some Malaysians may even reconsider their negative opinion on him. His latest public skewering of MCA is well worth disseminating.
According to Chua, MCA should not be pointing fingers at the DAP but should prevent UMNO from supporting PAS’ parliamentary hudud bill. In his statement, he pointed out that “if Umno MPs support PAS’ private bill in Parliament, MCA cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room and blame others for supporting PAS hudud in Kelantan.”
Further, he noted that “to continue issuing statements condemning DAP is an exercise of futility. The Malaysian community expects more from MCA and it is time for MCA leadership to rise to the occasion.” Read the rest of this entry »
Why I will never support hudud in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Islam, Law & Order on Saturday, 21 March 2015
Azrul Mohd Khalib
Malay Mail Online
Thursday March 19, 2015
MARCH 19 ― The tabling of the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II 1993 (Amendment 2015) in the Kelantan State Assembly and any move to amend the Federal Constitution to allow for the implementation of hudud at the State and Federal levels needs to be opposed by all right thinking Malaysians.
Personally, I will never support the imposition of hudud in this country. These are my four reasons:
Hudud is not needed in Malaysia. The law should be and is more than just about punishing others. It is about the deliverance of justice.
The penal laws at the centre of hudud were written during a time when harsh measures were necessary to impose peace, order and stability amidst a period of lawlessness, conflict and turmoil. They were guidelines for civilised behaviour formulated when and where there were few laws and men. Hudud was necessary there and at that time. Today, in our country, hudud law is neither necessary nor required.
We already have civil and criminal laws which provide for separate sets of laws and punishments. One of the primary tenets of Islam is about the deliverance of justice. The discourse surrounding the adoption and implementation of hudud in this country has barely made justice a mention, much less a priority. It has, however been very much about politics, punishing other people and posturing to “out-Islam” each other. Read the rest of this entry »
Mastermind of UMNO’s “UG”conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all issues currently haunting UMNO and Najib
Posted by Kit in Islam, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Saturday, 21 March 2015
The mastermind of UMNO’s “UG” (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS) conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all the issues currently haunting UMNO and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – the 1MDB scandal; Anwar Ibrahim’s five-year jailing; Mongolian Altantunya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder and conviction of two former police commandos Azila Hadri and Sirul Azhar with motives neither established nor pursued; the new jet for PM; the lavish spending on wedding of Najib’s daughter and above all, Najib’s survival as Prime Minister and UMNO President.
The latest bait in the UMNO UG conspiracy was unveiled only on March 27 last year when the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, surprised even PAS leaders with his completely unanticipated overture in Parliament that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional federal government was ready to work with the PAS Kelantan state government to implement the hudud law in Kelantan.
The first fruit of the latest gambit in the UMNO UG conspiracy was the re-enactment of the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code as the 2015 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code with slight amendments on 19th March 2015 and the second fruit, the notification by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to Parliament on March 18 to move a private member’s bill to implement hudud law in Kelantan.
As orchestrated by the deep plot of the UMNO UG conspirators, these two fruits were achieved in furtherance of their real objective to destabilise, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat because PAS had to break ranks not only with Pakatan Rakyat parties but also betrayed its commitments to Pakatan Rakyat, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
Why is Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the twitter trigger-happy IGP, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist Aisyah Tajuddin for questioning of hudud?
Why is the twitter trigger-happy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist, Aisyah Tajuddin, for questioning of hudud?
Khalid could swing into twitter action against Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGO activists within seconds, but why he is keeping his silence for over 24 hours over the death and rape threats to Aisyab Tajuddin?
Is the IGP suffering from selective attention in the way the police authorities suffer from the sin of selective investigation and harassment of PR leaders and NGO activists (the latest victim being the 11th #Kita Lawan rally arrest of PKR Vice President and MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chang) and the Attorney-General suffer from the disease of selective prosecutions?
Surely Khalid is not going to plead ignorance about the spate of death and rape threats against Aisyab which appeared on the social media in the last 36 hours, and he should explain what he has done about it in keeping with the IGP’s self-professed high standards of police professionalism and efficiency?
In view of Khalid’s “fame| for his twitter-quick monitoring of events concerning PR leaders and NGO activists, Malaysians wonder and have a right to know what the IGP has done with regard to the death and rape threats on the social media against Aisyab Tajuddin. Read the rest of this entry »
Impact of Kelantan’s hudud on all of us
By Wong Chin Huat
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015
COMMENT The most common myth on the Kelantan syariah criminal code, hudud, that was passed by its state assembly yesterday and spread by its proponents – including the so-called moderates in PAS – is that it will not affect non-Muslims.
Legal apartheid between Muslims and non-Muslims will allow the proponents to accuse the non-Muslim critics of the syariah criminal system of “intervening in Muslim affairs”, “obstructing Muslims from fulfilling their religious authorities” and even “opposing Islam”.
The silence of the non-Muslims is vital in turn for the silencing of Muslim criticism.
While the world’s top Islamic scholars, such as Prof Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi and Prof Tariq Ramadhan have argued directly against the implementation of hudud punishments on grounds this will cause injustice to the powerless among the Muslims, many Muslims in Malaysia who do not want hudud however fall back instead on the presence of the non-Muslims in our country. Read the rest of this entry »
PAS’s folly – awareness and containment
Posted by Kit in Islam, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Saturday, 21 March 2015
By Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015
COMMENT In the introduction of the Kelantan hudud bill its architect declared that those who question whether the legislation would bring in equal justice are “liars and immoral”.
This unbecoming language is what one expects of a fanatic dictator, rather than a genuine democratic leader. It speaks to the decay in the political fabric of Malaysia that is coming from leaders, who have lost the plot in having a national consciousness and the broader decline taking place in democratic governance. Given the passage of the Kelantan hudud bill, what are the likely political implications that will evolve from this measure?
Some political parties will begin the politics of containment, while others will fan division and will continue to use hudud for political gains. As of now, it is important to remember that no hudud measure will take effect. They are all measures on paper.
With respect to those who favour these measures, on many levels hudud does not holistically reflect the ideas of justice embodied in Islam or any faith for that matter and brings to light serious questions about fairness and administration of the rule of law for all of Malaysia’s citizens.
The stoning, chopping and whipping urged in the enactments are now threats over the public without adequate protections; they make up the politics of fear that has been deeply engrained in the Malaysian political landscape.
No implementation does not mean that there measures are not unimportant. Quite the contrary. The people of Kelantan in particular will be hurt economically by the bill, as its leaders across the political divide failed them in thinking holistically about their development. Read the rest of this entry »
Dad pens anguish over ‘burn, rape’ daughter calls
by Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015
The latest incident about a BFM newsreader being threatened with death, rape and being burnt alive by those whom I assume to be Malay-Muslim netizens brings forth serious questions for this country. Is this country safe for our children to live in?
If a simple point of view is raised against such issue as hudud or even such issue as democracy and clean elections can produce outbursts of murder, rape and burning people alive, what does it say about our country, its citizens and our leadership? Where did this culture come from?
I have noticed that the ones making threats of this nature come from mostly Malays who I assume are Muslim. Where did we, as a nation go wrong in educating these Malays? What are we teaching in our secondary schools? More importantly are our public universities producing people of such culture?
I sincerely hope that those who made the threats have never stepped foot in our public universities because if not I would like to ask these vice chancellors, what kind of Malay Malaysians are you producing? Read the rest of this entry »
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