The Caning

Today the model who was convicted for drinking alcohol will meet up with HRH Tengku Mahkota Pahang. The purpose of the visit isn't clear. She has said she was willing to be caned. The groovy looking father said her daughter wouldn't appeal. Indeed, there was a sense of defiance when they proclaimed that they were willing to be caned. Let us then meet up with the challenge.

So why are we delaying her caning? 3 women were already caned for other offences. We didn't even know when they were tried and the manner of legal representation accorded to them. It seems to me, the executors of God's laws are trying to emulate God Himself- by operating in mysterious ways.

There is no purpose and benefit of Kartika meeting up with HRH Tengku Mahkota. As far as I know, there is no legal enactment or provisions in the State's Islamic laws that empower HRH Tengku Mahkota or even HRH the Sultan to pardon an offender under a specific heading. Malay Sultans have powers over the Islamic religion yes, but it is a general and universal provision. Their persons give prestige to the institutions executing Islamic laws and ensure the practices, shariah laws and observances are carried out properly. But to intercede between a religious offender and the religious law, is another matter.

Under the Islamic Enactments of the State of Pahang, there appears to be no further appeals beyond the judgment of the shariah court. We don't have an appellate hierarchy as in civil law system. Perhaps the possibility of remitting the sentence to a pardon is a derivative from the universal and general provision of Malay rulers reigning supreme in matters of the Islamic religion. I don't know.

So it is a waste of time for the part time model to meet up HRH Tengku Mahkota Pahang. I support caning her but let us also make into a mandatory and non discriminatory ruling. Let's not be uncompromising when only caning part time models, GROs, daughters of Felda setters. Let us also be steadfast, uncompromising and unyielding and apply the same ruling using the same standards on privileged members of society.

Let's cane the taxi driver responsible for the death of his lover's daughter. They were cohabitating all the while. Let us also cane Razak Baginda because he so much admitted that the murdered Mongolian was his lover.

Let's do it openly. Don't do it sneakily. If the government wants to cane people who break Shariah laws, it must do openly. Convict the wrong doers openly and state clearly under what enactment are people punished. Say it clearly so that the public knows. It doesn't matter which shariah court – the Federal territory or whatever- they must do it loudly.

I can't reconcile these two cases- we haven't caned the part time model. Why are we taking so long a time? The shariah court has convicted her. It's been months after the fasting month last year, we haven't heard her being caned.

If the decision to cancel a maulidur rasul procession can be met with howls of schizophrenic protests, (that's not even a shariah law) then why is it that, the execution of Islamic laws appears to be done on the quiet as though clandestinely? Are the shariah courts scared in implementing God's laws?

We only knew that 3 women were caned when Hishamudin Hussein , the home minister announced it. He was more interested in stating that the women, who had to serve jail sentences too, suffered no bruises. Maybe they were caned with peacock feathers. While doing so, he flipped over pages in a report he is holding. If that is the case, would Hishamudin object, if we were to ask him to allow the women to speak publicly about their punishments away from the gaze of law enforcement officers?

As good Muslims we are not to question the implementation of Allah's laws here in Malaysia. But I think we have a right to ask that the laws be implemented fairly and uniformly.

The shariah officers should not waste any time in going after the young actress rescued by UMNO youth who recently came back. She is said to be a child artist who acted in a few TV dramas who was abducted and was brought to Lombok by her amorous lover. She is now 5 months into pregnancy which is proof that she had continuous sexual relations with her abductor out of wedlock. If she wasn't married and it is impossible for her to have married because she was abducted and a Muslim marriage has to be solemnized and given away by a legal guardian (wali), then she has transgressed many laws. But chief among these is having illicit sex. She too must be made to serve jail sentence and whipped.