“Islam is a religion of compassion and mercy. It is not about corporal punishment. That is the last resort. “That’s how it should be practised. We must not go overboard.” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak commenting on the sentencing of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno in July 2009 to six cane strokes after she pleaded [...]

(Corrected at 3:10pm, 8 March 2010) “The public and world community no longer needs to fear caning as a punishment under the syariah because it is not cruel but instead educates the offenders. It also provides awareness and teaches the offenders to repent and not repeat the acts.” Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who [...]

Digging…and digging…and digging THE big hole our government found themselves in after Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced to caning for drinking alcohol has just gotten bigger. Stuck between pleasing those who thought moral offenders deserved caning and outraged human rights groups as well as the international community, the government decided to cane three other [...]

BIARLAH saya meminta ampun kepada pembaca kolum saya kali ini — saya sebenarnya sudah ketagih membaca laman hiburan Tepi Kain. Maklumlah, mereka banyak memuatkan berita hiburan terkini, dan saya pula sudah pening membaca tentang kes liwatlah, keputusan mahkamah tentang Peraklah, dan berita politik lain yang agak berat dan merisaukan. Dan saya terpaksa mengaku bahawa saya [...]

KES Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno yang disabit bersalah kerana meminum arak telah menimbulkan pelbagai reaksi di kalangan umat Islam di Malaysia. Merujuk kepada artikel-artikel terbitan akhbar arus perdana khususnya, ramai yang menyokong hukuman maksima yang diputuskan oleh Mahkamah Syariah Pahang terhadap Kartika iaitu denda sebanyak RM5,000 dan enam kali sebatan. Walaubagaimanapun, terdapat juga pihak-pihak lain [...]

IF we were to believe everything we read, one would think that torture or degrading behaviour, if done differently, would no longer constitute torture or degrading behaviour. Indeed, this is what Pahang’s Mufti Department would want Muslims and non-Muslims to believe. Scan of New Straits Times report on syariah caning On 26 Oct 2009, the [...]