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Will Umno cave in to PAS’ hudud?

By P Ramasamy
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015

ADUN SPEAKS Whether the BN component parties have reached a consensus or not to support PAS’ private member’s hudud bill later in Parliament remains to be seen.

Prime Minister Najib Razak might have said that hudud law might contravene the constitution, but then in politics, with shifting alliances and double-deals, anything is possible.

Just like the way PAS has backstabbed DAP and PKR, even though hudud was not within the framework of Pakatan’s common policy.

Even if the private member’s bill does not get the support of the BN component parties including Umno, fact remains that PAS has already successfully passed the amendments at the Kelantan state assembly with the support of 12 Umno members and one from PKR. How PKR is going to deal with this “sore thumb” remains to be seen. Continue reading “Will Umno cave in to PAS’ hudud?”

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Take action against those who make threats online

– Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
21 March 2015

“I want to meet her too… I haven’t punched anyone in a long time… Who cares if anyone calls me a cuckold for hitting a woman… she should die.”

Above is one of the many comments targeted at Aisyah Tajuddin. I have one simple question to ask: does this comment enrage you? If it doesn’t, then you are misogynistic, which simply means you hate women. If you don’t understand what misogyny is and find the video anti-Islamic without even viewing the entire video, then that simply means you suffer from a deficit of intellectualism and that, my friend, can lead to destructive consequences.

The BFM video that sparked a mass hysteria of misplaced vitriol showcased the ugliness of the Malay/Muslim siege mentality. The video has since been taken down but the after-effects that continue to linger will forever haunt the rest of us. The numerous hate-filled threats on social media solidify the fact that online misogyny is equally disturbing and must be taken seriously. What makes these comments worse is the anonymity cyberspace provides for these cyber-bigots to troll around ruthlessly. Continue reading “Take action against those who make threats online”

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MCA’s hudud stand – the mouse that squeaked

By Koon Yew Yin
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015

COMMENT Why is it that politicians in Malaysia finally talk some sense when they become ex-politicians? I am referring to Dr Chua Soi Lek, former MCA president, who since his departure from the leadership position, has been talking more sense than before.

In fact, so much so that some Malaysians may even reconsider their negative opinion on him. His latest public skewering of MCA is well worth disseminating.

According to Chua, MCA should not be pointing fingers at the DAP but should prevent UMNO from supporting PAS’ parliamentary hudud bill. In his statement, he pointed out that “if Umno MPs support PAS’ private bill in Parliament, MCA cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room and blame others for supporting PAS hudud in Kelantan.”

Further, he noted that “to continue issuing statements condemning DAP is an exercise of futility. The Malaysian community expects more from MCA and it is time for MCA leadership to rise to the occasion.” Continue reading “MCA’s hudud stand – the mouse that squeaked”

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Why I will never support hudud in Malaysia

Azrul Mohd Khalib
Malay Mail Online
Thursday March 19, 2015

MARCH 19 ― The tabling of the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II 1993 (Amendment 2015) in the Kelantan State Assembly and any move to amend the Federal Constitution to allow for the implementation of hudud at the State and Federal levels needs to be opposed by all right thinking Malaysians.

Personally, I will never support the imposition of hudud in this country. These are my four reasons:

Hudud is not needed in Malaysia. The law should be and is more than just about punishing others. It is about the deliverance of justice.

The penal laws at the centre of hudud were written during a time when harsh measures were necessary to impose peace, order and stability amidst a period of lawlessness, conflict and turmoil. They were guidelines for civilised behaviour formulated when and where there were few laws and men. Hudud was necessary there and at that time. Today, in our country, hudud law is neither necessary nor required.

We already have civil and criminal laws which provide for separate sets of laws and punishments. One of the primary tenets of Islam is about the deliverance of justice. The discourse surrounding the adoption and implementation of hudud in this country has barely made justice a mention, much less a priority. It has, however been very much about politics, punishing other people and posturing to “out-Islam” each other. Continue reading “Why I will never support hudud in Malaysia”

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Mastermind of UMNO’s “UG”conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all issues currently haunting UMNO and Najib

The mastermind of UMNO’s “UG” (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS) conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all the issues currently haunting UMNO and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – the 1MDB scandal; Anwar Ibrahim’s five-year jailing; Mongolian Altantunya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder and conviction of two former police commandos Azila Hadri and Sirul Azhar with motives neither established nor pursued; the new jet for PM; the lavish spending on wedding of Najib’s daughter and above all, Najib’s survival as Prime Minister and UMNO President.

The latest bait in the UMNO UG conspiracy was unveiled only on March 27 last year when the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, surprised even PAS leaders with his completely unanticipated overture in Parliament that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional federal government was ready to work with the PAS Kelantan state government to implement the hudud law in Kelantan.

The first fruit of the latest gambit in the UMNO UG conspiracy was the re-enactment of the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code as the 2015 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code with slight amendments on 19th March 2015 and the second fruit, the notification by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to Parliament on March 18 to move a private member’s bill to implement hudud law in Kelantan.

As orchestrated by the deep plot of the UMNO UG conspirators, these two fruits were achieved in furtherance of their real objective to destabilise, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat because PAS had to break ranks not only with Pakatan Rakyat parties but also betrayed its commitments to Pakatan Rakyat, viz: Continue reading “Mastermind of UMNO’s “UG”conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all issues currently haunting UMNO and Najib”

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Why is Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the twitter trigger-happy IGP, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist Aisyah Tajuddin for questioning of hudud?

Why is the twitter trigger-happy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist, Aisyah Tajuddin, for questioning of hudud?

Khalid could swing into twitter action against Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGO activists within seconds, but why he is keeping his silence for over 24 hours over the death and rape threats to Aisyab Tajuddin?

Is the IGP suffering from selective attention in the way the police authorities suffer from the sin of selective investigation and harassment of PR leaders and NGO activists (the latest victim being the 11th #Kita Lawan rally arrest of PKR Vice President and MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chang) and the Attorney-General suffer from the disease of selective prosecutions?

Surely Khalid is not going to plead ignorance about the spate of death and rape threats against Aisyab which appeared on the social media in the last 36 hours, and he should explain what he has done about it in keeping with the IGP’s self-professed high standards of police professionalism and efficiency?

In view of Khalid’s “fame| for his twitter-quick monitoring of events concerning PR leaders and NGO activists, Malaysians wonder and have a right to know what the IGP has done with regard to the death and rape threats on the social media against Aisyab Tajuddin. Continue reading “Why is Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the twitter trigger-happy IGP, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist Aisyah Tajuddin for questioning of hudud?”

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Impact of Kelantan’s hudud on all of us

By Wong Chin Huat
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015

COMMENT The most common myth on the Kelantan syariah criminal code, hudud, that was passed by its state assembly yesterday and spread by its proponents – including the so-called moderates in PAS – is that it will not affect non-Muslims.

Legal apartheid between Muslims and non-Muslims will allow the proponents to accuse the non-Muslim critics of the syariah criminal system of “intervening in Muslim affairs”, “obstructing Muslims from fulfilling their religious authorities” and even “opposing Islam”.

The silence of the non-Muslims is vital in turn for the silencing of Muslim criticism.

While the world’s top Islamic scholars, such as Prof Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi and Prof Tariq Ramadhan have argued directly against the implementation of hudud punishments on grounds this will cause injustice to the powerless among the Muslims, many Muslims in Malaysia who do not want hudud however fall back instead on the presence of the non-Muslims in our country. Continue reading “Impact of Kelantan’s hudud on all of us”

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PAS’s folly – awareness and containment

By Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015

COMMENT In the introduction of the Kelantan hudud bill its architect declared that those who question whether the legislation would bring in equal justice are “liars and immoral”.

This unbecoming language is what one expects of a fanatic dictator, rather than a genuine democratic leader. It speaks to the decay in the political fabric of Malaysia that is coming from leaders, who have lost the plot in having a national consciousness and the broader decline taking place in democratic governance. Given the passage of the Kelantan hudud bill, what are the likely political implications that will evolve from this measure?

Some political parties will begin the politics of containment, while others will fan division and will continue to use hudud for political gains. As of now, it is important to remember that no hudud measure will take effect. They are all measures on paper.

With respect to those who favour these measures, on many levels hudud does not holistically reflect the ideas of justice embodied in Islam or any faith for that matter and brings to light serious questions about fairness and administration of the rule of law for all of Malaysia’s citizens.

The stoning, chopping and whipping urged in the enactments are now threats over the public without adequate protections; they make up the politics of fear that has been deeply engrained in the Malaysian political landscape.

No implementation does not mean that there measures are not unimportant. Quite the contrary. The people of Kelantan in particular will be hurt economically by the bill, as its leaders across the political divide failed them in thinking holistically about their development. Continue reading “PAS’s folly – awareness and containment”