Digging…and digging…and digging THE big hole our government found themselves in after Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced to caning for drinking alcohol has just gotten bigger. Stuck between pleasing those who thought moral offenders deserved caning and outraged human rights groups as well as the international community, the government decided to cane three other […]
punishment
Torture by any other fashion
By Jacqueline Ann SurinIF we were to believe everything we read, one would think that torture or degrading behaviour, if done differently, would no longer constitute torture or degrading behaviour. Indeed, this is what Pahang’s Mufti Department would want Muslims and non-Muslims to believe. Scan of New Straits Times report on syariah caning On 26 Oct 2009, the […]
The role of intra-faith dialogue
By Shanon ShahWe need more intra-faith dialogue (© arte_ram / sxc.hu) DISCUSSIONS on religious issues, or a lack thereof, are increasingly defining public policy and society in Malaysia. A few key words are enough to jog memories — the cow-head protest, the whipping sentence on Muslims for drinking alcohol, Christians and the word “Allah”, concert banning, and […]
“Islamic focus on punishment misguided”
By Shanon ShahPERTH, 2 Nov 2009: The focus on punishment of personal sins in Islam is misguided, a professor of Islamic Studies said. SaeedProfessor Abdullah Saeed was partly referring to calls from certain Muslim groups to uphold the caning sentence on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno in Malaysia for consuming alcohol. Saeed is currently the Sultan of Oman […]
Flipping on whipping
By Shanon Shah“The punishment must be more educational rather than causing hurt to a woman to make her reform… So far nobody, not even a male, has been whipped under the Syariah in Malaysia.” PAS central working committee member and Titiwangsa Member of Parliament Dr Lo’ Lo Mohamad Ghazali, on the Kuantan Syariah Court’s whipping sentence on […]
Call for harsher penalty against snatch crime
KUALA LUMPUR, 7 May 2009: Wanita Gerakan has proposed that the government amend the Penal Code in order to impose harsher punishment against snatch thieves. Its chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe also called for a holistic approach in tackling crime and urged bodies such as the Rukun Tetangga (RT) and village development and security committees […]
Islam beyond hudud
By Aloysious MoweWHEN I read the opinions and exchanges with regard to hudud in Malaysia, my head begins to hurt. Women write about their fear of being forced to wear the tudung if hudud were to be implemented. Others use the example of gambling as support for the introduction of hudud. Opponents have cited the persecution of […]
