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Monday, January 12, 2009

The Fatwa of Khalsa warrior Karpal Singh

The body language of the Pakatan Rakyat leaders was not good during a press conference today in Kuala Terengganu when reporters grilled DAP Lim Guan Eng (there to campaign for the PAS candidate) and PAS Pak Haji Hadi Awang.

According to Malaysiakini Hadi, Guan Eng grilled over hudud, Lim Guan Eng firmly asserted:

"If any problems occur, we will resolve it through musyawarah, that is through discussions. All three parties must hold discussions and if a consensus is not reached, it must be discussed again.”

"This means, should PKR and PAS agree to implement hudud and DAP disagrees then it cannot be implemented. Everything must be discussed until all three parties agree.”

But Malaysiakini Andrew Ong pointed out, that as Lim GE prattled on this line for about five minutes, Pak Haji Hadi Awang was noticeably uncomfortable [squirming or rolling eyes or sneering?]

Andrew said the obvious body language forced Terengganu PAS chief Mustafa Ali to leap in to salvage the situation. Mustafa stated that hudud was not an issue in the Kuala Terengganu by-election as the results would not have any impact on the state or federal government.

As I have blogged in Anwar Ibrahim misleading on PAS hudud intention DAP chairperson Karpal Singh was less than impressed by Anwar Ibrahim’s assurance to the (non-Muslim) voters in Kuala Terengganu that there was no need to reject the hudud proposal as it was only applicable to Muslims. He had also glibly dismissed Karpal’s remark that the PAS proposed legislation was unconstitutional.

But as we had read in Malaysiakini news article
Karpal: Anwar's statement on hudud misleading Karpal shot down Anwar’s statement as a fallacy!

The BN has seen this as an opening to drive a wedge between the Pakatan Rakyat coalition as well as to persuade non-Muslim voters not to vote for the PAS candidate (through the MCA of course with UMNO tap dancing niftily away from the hudud question).

Well, it’s obvious that the BN’s attempt to divide and conquer hasn’t found traction as Lim GE is still there campaigning for PAS, and had even loaned a giant two-metre tall lorry-mounted television to PAS for the campaign period.

But the stress of the divergent ideology re the hudud was apparent on the two Pakatan Rakyat members.

What is the hudud?

According to Wikipedia, hudud deals with offences defined as ‘claims of God’, as opposed to other offences which are ‘claims of His servants’. This means the ruler has a responsibility to punish hudud offences and cannot, like the offences classified as ‘claims of His servants’, be left to the parties involved to settle among themselves (by way of compensations) or for them to have a say in the punishment.

In other words, state punishment according to prescribed punishments is mandatory.

The term hudud means ’limit’, implying the defined bounds of acceptable Islamic behaviour and the respective punishments for serious crimes.

Hudud offenses include drinking alcohol, theft, highway robbery, ‘zina’ or illegal sexual intercourse, false accusation of illegal sexual intercourse, rebellion against the ruler, and apostasy (which includes blasphemy).

Apparently not all jurists consider apostasy to be a hudud offense, but I wonder what position PAS and UMNO and indeed PKR holds regarding this ‘offence’?

Anyway, Wikipedia tells us that the classes of punishments under the hudud are:

(i) Capital punishments - by sword/crucifixion (for highway robbery with homicide), by stoning (for ‘zina' when the offenders are mature, married Muslims)

(ii) Amputation of hands or feet (for theft and highway robbery without homicide)

(iii) Flogging with a varying number of strokes (for drinking, ‘zina' when the offenders are unmarried or not Muslims, and false accusations of zina')

I must confess the cruel streak in me is attracted to sub-paragraph (ii), when I think of the highway toll. Could we classify a la hudud that those fat cats having the concessions to the toll highways are highway robbers without homicides, unless the conditions of the highways had led to fatal accidents which would then bum their culpability upstairs to sub-paragraph (i) punishment ... gulp!

But on the balance of it all, I tremble at the capital punishment of stoning to death for illicit sexual intercourse - I believe that our first prime minister had once retorted that if we were to implement this particular law, we would soon run out of stones to build our roads.

How can PAS them question DAP for resisting the hudud by arguing that since the latter had accepted civil laws, what's then was the big deal about hudud?


Just consider the example of zina, where a vast difference in punishment exists between the two systems on 'bonking on the sly'. Under hudud, one will be executed through stoning whilst under civil laws, it’s not a crime to 'curi makan' (though in some circumstances, provisions exist for the injured party to sue the othe party).

Indeed, spiritual leader of the DAP, Karpal Singh asked succinctly (assuming a case of zina between a Muslim and a non-Muslim): "What would happen if there are two co-accused, a Muslim and a non-Muslim with the Muslim opting for hudud law and the non-Muslim for civil law? How would the courts get out of this dilemma?”


Under those circumstances I doubt very much the Muslim would opt to be tried under hudud.

Karpal said, as reported by the The Malaysian Insider that DAP was prepared to cooperate with PAS and Pakatan Rakyat on condition that both PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) do not insist on the introduction of hudud laws.

He fatwa-ed: “It has been said in politics there are no permanent enemies or friends, but the need to have permanent principles must remain sacrosanct for any political party worth its name to be acceptable to the rakyat.”

As we can see, the ‘spiritual’ leader of a secular political party upholds principles rather than the teachings of a holy book

Karpal also called upon PAS and PKR (wakakaka - aiyoh Anwar Ibrahim, mana lu punya Kulim Wonder lah?) to cease from further clamouring for the impossible and accept that hudud laws had no place in the statute books.

Karpal warns that the point which should not be missed, but which regrettably had been missed by both Anwar and Hadi, was that the Federal Constitution provided for one uniform law, namely, civil law for both Muslims and non-Muslims across the board.


He said: “The call by both PAS and PKR to have hudud laws applicable to Muslims with an option given to non-Muslims to choose between hudud law and civil law would, and must, mean the introduction of an Islamic state which would mean destruction of the basic structure of the Constitution.”

Karpal said though the Federal Constitution could only be amended through a two-third majority in Parliament, the amendment cannot include destruction of the basic structure of the Constitution, as this would go beyond amendment.

I say Amin to that.

17 comments:

  1. I'm a Kuala Terengganu voter, and I'm definitely going to be back to cast my vote.

    I will be voting Barisan Nasional.
    No way PAS gets my support, because of this issue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ada orang tertentu kata Hudud untuk orang Islam sahaja, Hudud privacy orang Islam.

    Kenyataan diatas itu salah, hudud bukan privacy orang Islam, issue ini berkaitan dengan semua rakyat Malaysia sebab hudud boleh menentukan arah dan masa depan Malaysia.

    Di Malaysia sekarang, tanpa hudud religion intolerance sudah capai tahap yang amat merbahaya, kalau ada hudud pasti banyak lagi masaalah timbul.

    Saya support Pakatan Rakyat tanpa Hudud.

    ReplyDelete
  3. the debate about hudud is as enlightening as watching two bald men fighting over a comb.

    frankly, i do hope barisan nasional wins because we are so used to corruption, nepotism and collusion that we wouldn't know how to live otherwise. C'mon, just imagine the amount we can save in penalties when we selesai the matter unofficially?

    What would life be if we actually had to live as law abiding, responsible citizens in a participatory democracy.

    Go on, admit it. We like it this way :-)

    can

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  4. Hudud & Qisas, please refer to Al-Quran & Sunnah, the best people to get consultation is the ulamak, one of the top ulamak that recognized by majority of Muslims (who knows cristal clear about Islam) in Malaysia is Tuan Guru Nik Aziz. I don't eat on your views. Bullshit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I found very useful truth about hudud for everyone's information.

    Just read the following in full and ask your brain if Karpal is right.

    Link here:

    http://www.mylivingwall.com/v3/commentary-news-menu-70/6246-tujuan-hukuman-hudud-qisas-diyat-dan-tazir

    ReplyDelete
  6. HUDUD over my dead body.

    I'm prepared to support BN if the alternative is to accept Hudud.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Even though Hudud law looks harsh with its punishment, it is a preventive law compared to secularlaws which is a punitive a law. This is because of its evidences presentation is very straight which makes a hudud case to fall into Takzir law... There is a 4 indisputable witness requirements to such hudud incidents and these witness must have indisputable characters...

    Hudud sounds harsh because to make people afraid to do the offenses.. thus preventing them from doing crimes...

    Secular laws did not give such picture, thus people are not afraid do to crimes.. thus it punish the offenders when they did crimes

    ReplyDelete
  8. During the Permatang Pauh by-election, BN was obsessed with Jubur.
    Now in Kuala Terengganu, BN is obsessed with Hudud.

    Both mis-strategies are going to crash in flames.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks like DAP is caught fighting in between PRINCIPLE and PRAGMATICISM...

    I think it's good to have some of the leadership being pragmatic, and some others holding onto the principle... :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. BN's nightmare on Elm Street...every by-election from now until GE 13 becomes a lost seat....aduuuhhh...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sarawak BN say the issue on Hudud i a side show meant to trap UMNO. Looks like they were trap and look at how desperate they are in closing down DAP Bilik Gerakan. What ever body language there is!!!

    UMNO dead and buried of ideas. The only brilliant idea they have is how to rob and enrich themselves and this i do not mince my words as I work for them before.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am from Kuala Trengganu. I am going back to vote for PAS together with my wife, hers and my parents.

    BN have to go. The only good they know is how to think of collossal project proposal.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think DAP should leave the Pakatan and let Anwar's PKR and PAS wrestle with the question of implementing hudud.

    I would rather keep the corrupt BN than a bunch of jokers who were already fighting before they hold the reins of power.

    I hope the people of KT can see where these strange bedfellows are taking them to.

    I am a Muslim I want God to punish me if I have sinned, not by another human being.

    ReplyDelete
  14. come on la guys... karpal is a lawyer right? and he knows lawyers also some of them make money from defending criminals right? here's my theory..

    hudud law applied ---> less crime
    less crime ---> less court case
    less court case ---> less lawyer appointed
    less lawyer appointed ---> less lawyer pocket money

    see my theory.. its money matters man.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm not a fan of Anwar Ibrahim or PKR or PAS, but I don't wear anti-Anwar blinkers all the time, so I can see the broader picture.

    And the broader picture is BN must be handed a defeat in Kuala Terengganu to keep the flame of reform and change going.

    The ruling regime still thinks March 8 was a flash in the pan, and a win in KT will just allow them to go back to the old ways.

    ReplyDelete
  16. i think what is the most important factor in HUDUD or NO HUDUD!

    Is TRUE RELIGION FREEDOM!!!

    What can I expect from that?

    If anyone can jump out from Islam than HUDUD not a problem because those choose to be hudud-ed can be hudud-ed and those choose not to be hudud-ed can not lol!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hantu Laut said
    I am a Muslim I want God to punish me if I have sinned, not by another human being

    So that you can jerk off in Public and nobody can stop you?
    The stupidest remark from a muslim teacher. Pity your students.

    ReplyDelete