MALAYSIA
For Dr Mahathir, Muslims in Malaysia not ready yet for hudud – Bernama
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sees Muslims in Malaysia as not ready yet for the implementation of hudud.
He said this was because the party which intended to implement hudud, the Islamic penal code, was not prioritising justice which was emphasised in Islam but doing it their own way.
"Hudud is part of Islam but we cannot give the power to penalise (offenders) under this law to those who do not understand justice as mentioned in the Quran.
"In Islam, it is not the severity of the penalty that takes precedence," he said today.
Dr Mahathir (pic) said he still maintained his stand that it would not be fair to have different penalties between Muslims and non-Muslims for the same offence.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the federal government had never rejected hudud, but the priorities and constraints should be addressed before the Islamic law could be implemented without affecting its objective.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said he would want to see the young generation learn and understand the country's general election process.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said he would want to see the young generation learn and understand the country's general election process.
He said they were born after the country had achieved independence and were exposed to foreign propaganda, causing them to think that Malaysia was not democratic.
"In a general election, there would be winners and losers, but often the losers find it difficult to accept the results and would blame the EC for their loss.
"If the EC fails to counter the allegations, riots can happen like in Egypt, Bangladesh and Thailand," he said. – Bernama, April 25, 2014.
COMMENTS (5)
He is correct in saying this:
"He said this was because the party which intended to implement hudud, the Islamic penal code, was not prioritising justice which was emphasised in Islam but doing it their own way."
The fact is that some of the suggested punishments, such as death for apostasy, are based on incorrect readings of the Quran. It is regarded by some scholars as a myth, yet many Muslims believe this to be the case.
http://www.ascertainthetruth.com/att/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61:death-for-apostasy-is-un-islamic-and-not-in-the-quran&catid=64:understanding-al-islam&Itemid=53
I am fairly certain that not even everyone in PAS has identical views on hudud, a subject that divides even Islamic scholars.
Dr M is also correct in saying that most advocates of hudud are far too obsessed with form rather than substance.
This link has some interesting resources:
http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/news.php?cat.121
I repeat again my call for PAS to be intellectually honest. Is the call for hudud shared by the national PAS leadership? Is it held beyond Kelantan? Is is merely one faction of one state that is calling for it?
These are important questions and deserve thoughtful answers.
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Hmm, I wonder why Malaysians in general, regardless of age, think that Malaysia is not democratic. Perhaps it's because there's no space for dissent and civil society to express their opposition to the draconian laws that the ruling [which incidentally doesn't understand justice as well] imposes while corruptly enriching itself and its benefactors with contracts that guarantee profits!