Of justice, mercy and forgiveness

By Aniza Damis (NST)

ON Aug 20, there occurred an act of profound humanity.

That day, the Scottish government decided to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber.

Responsible for bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 and killing all 259 passengers and crew, plus 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground where the plane crashed, al-Megrahi was sentenced to life imprisonment and was to serve a minimum of 27 years.

But, having only served eight years in a Scottish prison, al-Megrahi was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer with a life expectancy of not more than three months.

On compassionate grounds, the Scottish government decided to send him home to Libya to see out his last days in the embrace of his family.

Many political issues dog why, in the 21 years since the bombing on Dec 21, 1988, al-Megrahi has been the only person convicted of the crime, the strength of the evidence that convicted him and other reasons for his release.

For Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill, the reason was purely and solely compassion: "Al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them.

"But, that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days.

"Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available. Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown.

"Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs that we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people. No matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated."

In Islamic jurisprudence, there are several ways of dealing with a murderer: he can be made to pay blood money to the victim's family; he can be drawn into service to that family for the rest of his days; or he can be executed by the state. Or, if the victim's family forgive the killer, he can be set free.

The option most loved by God is forgiveness.

Of the 99 known names and attributes of Allah, six directly relate to compassion and mercy: Ar-Rahman (the most compassionate, the beneficient and the gracious), Ar-Rahim (the merciful), Al-Gaffar (the forgiver), Al-Gafur (the forgiving), Ar-Ra'uf (the most kind and the clement) and Al-'Afuww (the pardoner).

 

Another, At-Tawwab (the granter and accepter of repentance), indirectly denotes the element of mercy.

Closer to home this month, we've seen Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, receive much national and international press coverage on account of her conviction by the Pahang Syariah Court.

Kartika's crime is consuming alcohol in public, an offence under syariah. For this, she was sentenced to a fine of RM5,000 and the maximum number of six strokes of the rotan.

She is the first woman to be convicted of such a crime under syariah and is potentially the first woman to be caned in Malaysia.

Civil law prohibits the caning of women, probably because criminal caning is considerably harsher than syariah caning.

Kartika was to have been caned this week, but it has been postponed until after the fasting month.

Some argue that the syariah law, which allows for a woman to be caned, runs counter to the federal law that does not allow a woman to be caned.

Some also argue that the caning cannot be executed because prison regulations only allow the caning of prisoners, and Kartika was not given a jail sentence.

And Section 125 (4) of the Pahang Syariah Criminal Procedure Act 2002, which gives the court the right to detain her for caning, cannot be applied since it refers to offenders who have been sentenced to caning only.

Kartika was given a fine in addition to the caning. And she has paid the fine.

Many argue that, being a first-time offender, Kartika should not have received the maximum sentence.

Yet others argue that a woman should be spared the cane.

The last argument is weak. The amended Article 8 of the Federal Constitution says no one should be discriminated against on the basis of gender.

To date, six Muslim men have been caned for consuming alcohol in public. So, if the court honestly believes she deserves to be caned, then the woman should be caned.

But here's the question: does Kartika deserve to be caned?

This is her first offence. By right, on the scale of penalties, she should have got the lowest punishment – a fine. Yet, why was she also given the maximum number of strokes of the rotan? Is the situation of Muslims publicly imbibing in alcohol at such a dire level that it warrants Kartika being made an example?

At the eleventh hour, the Pahang syariah appellate court is wading into the issue and might revise the sentence.

If they are set on caning her, they will either have to drop the fine (which has been paid) or add a jail sentence.

Adding a jail sentence will make Kartika ineligible to work in the public sector as well as make it difficult for her to travel overseas.

But, there is another option: they could just drop the caning altogether and make her punishment just a fine.

Some people would say if this happens, then justice would not be served and Kartika would not have learned her lesson.

But consider this: in the one month since she was convicted, the whole world has seen Kartika's face.

We know her name, her father's name and her two children's names and their ages. We know how they all look like. We've had a good look at her father's sitting room in Sungai Siput, Perak.

We've even glimpsed several of his neighbours, who gathered around last Monday to see her off and wish her well on what turned out to be an abortive trip to jail.

Even if she doesn't get caned, Kartika will forever be etched in our minds as the woman who drank beer at a nightclub in Cherating and was caught and convicted by the syariah court. From now on, any canned drink she holds – no matter how innocuous – will be scrutinised by the public.

By her actions and words of late, Kartika seems to have repented.

It's time to forgive.

Forgiveness allows us to shut the door on the past and concentrate on the future. It allows us to reclaim our lives and get on with living.

And that is Merdeka.