Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
By Sakmongkol AK47
One piece of news that caught my attention was a statement issued by Dato Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. She has been at the forefront expressing reservations about the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi Sukarno. Sari Dewi is the model (as she calls herself) who was caught drinking alcohol by the Pahang religious authorities. She was tried by the shariah court and ordered to be caned in accordance with the Islamic way.
At the 11th hour the God fearing religious authorities made a volte face, deferring the sentencing. Ok, the excuse was acceptable. It was the fasting month and in keeping with the holy month, no punishment of that kind can be carried out. Perhaps the judge or officers of the religious court can enlighten us by which 'nas' was the suspension of the sentence be made permissible? Is this the same with cessation of hostilities during the holy month of Ramadhan?
I have supported the caning by way of reasoning I wrote in several earlier essays. I was also hoping that such a sentence must be carried out consistently on everyone irrespective of social ranks. Now the shariah court in Wilayah Persekutuan will be given a chance to show everyone in Malaysia whether the application of the laws is done in a uniform manner. It will be interesting to see whether the application of this aspect of Islamic laws pertaining to drinking alcohol is the same in Wilayah as in Pahang.
There may be a case to test the universality of such laws. It is provided indirectly in the case involving the ongoing dispute between two royal households in Malaysia. It is reported that members of 2 royal households were involved in a terrible altercation. One was grievously hurt. He then went with 15 or more people to the hotel in which the other party was staying to seek retribution. The other party had, it is said, 4 minders with him. The 4 people were able to overpower the 15 or more people and inflicted on the latter punishment of their own. The 4 must be Kung Fu fighters.
Like many others, I want to know, how come 4 bodyguards can overwhelm 15 or more people from harming a person whom they were protecting? Unless of course the 15 or more hired hands from the Negeri royal house were too drunk to do anything of any significance.
Read more at: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
