‘Hudud ineffective if it leads to injustice’
In the event hudud creates a negative image for Islam or allows injustice, its implementation can be postponed, says a USM scholar
K Pragalath, Free Malaysia Today
The implementation of hudud can take a back seat if it leads to injustice, USM scholar Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said today.
“Hudud can be destructive when it upholds inequality such as in graft.
In those days, the Malay states exempted royalty from hudud. The worse is to send a prince into exile to a neighbouring state,” he said at a forum on the national Syariah crime discussion in UKM today.
“Implementing hudud alone will not ensure a peaceful nation. In the corruption perception index, western countries still are at the top because they uphold values. None of the Muslim countries are ranked highly,” he said.
“We have to ensure the Baitulmal and zakat funds goes to the needy. There are RM1.5 billion in funds. You wouldn’t want to see the needy (Muslims) going to church to obtain aid.
“Even divorces cannot be settled because we need good judges for hudud. It would involve many agencies,” he added.
Kelantan state excutive councillor Mohamed Fadzli Hassan said hudud would definitely be implemented and it was just a question of when.
He said there were two methods to implement hudud – amend the Syariah laws or Islamise the Penal Code.
“Islamising the Penal Code will include the hudud penalty into the code. For example, in a rape case, hudud allows victims to obtain compensation.
“In the current system, they get nothing,” he said.
