The dangers of passing hudud law
Malaysians Muslims and non-Muslims should oppose the bill which unexpectedly was allowed by Umno to “potong jalan” or jump the queue during the last parliamentary sitting.
Koon Yew Yin, Free Malaysia Today
In two months from now, Parliament will be sitting again. What is at stake for the nation is nothing less than our way of life and our Malaysian dream.
This is because a private member’s bill to amend the Shariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 will be tabled and debated at that sitting.
PAS president Hadi Awang has been going around claiming that this bill is only to upgrade the Shariah Courts and that it has nothing to do with non-Muslims.
PAS oriented analysts and ulama leaders have also commented that it is not really a “hudud bill” and that it’s passage is only intended to pave the way for PAS to enforce its version of Islamic penal laws in Kelantan. Hence they argue that its effect will be limited.
However Hadi and his supporters are only trying to fool the public.
Here are my reasons for why all Malaysians – Muslims and non-Muslims – should oppose the bill which unexpectedly was allowed by Umno to “potong jalan” or jump the queue during the last parliamentary sitting.
Negative impact of hudud bill enactment
Here is a summary of its negative impact.
Firstly, the passage of the bill is against the Federal Constitution, the country’s supreme law which calls for equality before the law. The proposed bill will destroy this key provision by allowing more criminal offences seen to be against the “precepts of Islam” to be dealt by the Shariah courts and result in two sets of criminal laws for Muslims – the Shariah and the civil law system; as well as two sets of laws for Muslims and non-Muslims.
Secondly, the passing of this bill could pave the way towards further constitutional amendments that could result in Shariah courts superseding civil courts and for the full imposition of hudud which includes limb amputation for thieves and flogging in public for adulterers, according to the Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar, Mohd Amar Abdullah.
Thirdly if non-Muslims think they will not be affected by the proposed bill, they are sadly mistaken. Already some prominent ulama such as the Perlis Mufti Asri Zainal Abidin have gone on record to say that non-Muslims should not be exempted from hudud. We have seen unilateral conversions of children from divorces and body snatching by Islamic religious departments. As pointed out by the columnist, Farouk Peru, in his article, “Hudud: Non-Muslims Beware”.
“What would happen when a Muslim is convicted for stealing and his non-Muslim partner is caught alongside him? Will he stand by and lose his limb while his partner with great relief goes to jail? Highly unlikely.”
To me, this is more than just the camel in the tent scenario. There is good reason to believe that the passing of this bill will embolden the radical Muslim lobby to push for more. It will not stop with the present bill.
If passed, it will take us down a dangerous road and ultimately push us over a precipice. Even liberal Muslims such as Farouk Peru and others are saying this. Hudud law belongs to the middle ages not to modern society.
The bill is clearly an attempt by PAS at playing Islamic politics. Taking advantage of the Islamic religious resurgence in Malaysia, it is aimed at reinforcing PAS’ position in Kelantan and Terengganu as well as pushing Umno which is presently in a crisis due to the 1MDB and the personal donation to the Prime Minister twin scandals to support it so as to retain Malay-Muslim support.
But what will happen next when the bill is passed is what we should be worried about.
