Sunday, June 5, 2016

No room for hudud law

The Sunday Star
With All Due Respect by Roger Tan

No political acquiescence: Barisan Nasional component party leaders have resolved to stand against PAS’ Hudud Bill. From left are MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, SUPP deputy president Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem and MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.
PAS’ proposed Syariah Courts amendments are no less controversial even when we look at them objectively. The clash of laws will only give rise to another set of headaches to our multi-religious and multi-racial society. PAS’ proposed Syariah Courts Act amendments are no less controversial even when we look at them objectively. The clash of laws will only give rise to another set of headaches to our multi-religious and multi-racial society. 

IT was indeed unusual. On May 26, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said moved a motion allowing opposition MP, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s Private Member’s Bill (PMB) to take precedence over government business. This has enabled Abdul Hadi’s PMB to leapfrog over government matters, thus allowing it to be tabled. Abdul Hadi had tried twice since 2015 and failed, but now his PMB will be debated in the October parliamentary session.

Needless to say, the non-Muslim Barisan Nasional leaders felt slighted as they were obviously caught unawares.

Abdul Hadi’s PMB, entitled the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill 2016, seeks to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, 1965 (Act 355); as Umno leaders had explained, it was intended to enhance the powers of Syariah Courts.

However, the exhilarated PAS leaders had no hesitation to proclaim that it was to pave the way for the implementation of hudud punishment in Kelantan via the Syariah Criminal Code II (1993) 2015 (SCC) passed by the Kelantan State Legislature on March 19 last year.

The preamble to the SCC clearly states that this state enactment is for the creation of Syariah hudud criminal offences. Under the SCC, there are six types of hudud offences – sariqah (theft), hirabah (robbery), zina (unlawful sexual intercourse such as adultery, pre-marital sex and sodomy), qazaf (accusation of zina which cannot be proven without four witnesses), syurb (consuming liquor or intoxicating drinks), and irtadad or riddah (apostasy).

Emotion aside, let us now look at this controversial subject strictly from the legal perspective.