NO TO HUDUD

Friday January 16, 2009

Hudud denounced

By SIMON KHOO

KUANTAN: Criminals, particularly rapists, will get away scot free if PAS succeeds in implementing hudud laws in the country, said MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker.

Ti, a lawyer, said: “Every offence must be proven by the testimony of two adult male Muslim witnesses of clean background.

“In a case involving a Muslim rapist and a non-Muslim victim, the Muslim rapist may escape persecution if the victim failed to produce adult male Muslim witnesses.

Festive mood: Ti (left) distributing ang pows to senior citizens in Kuantan on Sunday.

“Eye-witness accounts of a rape will not be admitted as evidence if they are not Muslim males.

“This can render justice unattainable and rapists will have a field day. Even non-Muslims have a ready route of escape,” he said after giving out ang pows to senior citizens here recently.

The implementation of hudud laws has been in the limelight with DAP and PAS leaders being involved in disagreements over the issue.

PAS claimed that DAP had a clear understanding of hudud laws and that only Umno was standing in the way of its implementation.

However, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh hit out at PAS leaders saying that the party was not in favour of the move as “Malaysia was and still is a secular country.”

Ti, who is also Kuantan MCA division chief, said that PAS leaders should give a detailed explanation to non-Muslims on the aspect of legislation.

“Even if hudud is applicable only to Muslims, there will be an impact on the social and legal scenarios.

“We are already facing conflicts between civil and syariah laws involving non-Muslim families when one party converts to Islam,” he stressed.

Ti said, in Saudi Arabia and Iran, hudud laws were the law of the land and applicable to all citizens including non-Muslims.

“There is no guarantee that the first step will not lead us into troubled waters.

“Already, Malaysians are divided by race, religion and culture. Hudud will tear us apart and Malaysians will be burdened with legal conflicts,” he said.

Hudud and qisas offences are contained in legislation known as the Syariah Criminal Code Enactment under hudud laws. Theft, robbery, illicit sex, alcohol consumption and apostasy are considered as offences.

The punishment for these offences are corporal in nature involving whipping, stoning to death and amputation of limbs.

Qisas (law of retaliation) refers to offences that involve bodily injury or loss of life.

The punishment is death or imprisonment, but compensation in the form of money or property is accepted if the guardian of the victim forgives the offender.