So does it really matter what the punishment for crimes are and what type of punishment system we use when the system itself rather than the punishment is the problem? The problem is not the punishment. The problem is the manipulation of the system and the corruption in the system. Unless that is solved, Malaysians are never going to see justice, whether man-made justice or God’s form of justice.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

It looks like, yet again, the Islamic law of Hudud is being hotly debated. And this time, every man and his dog is involved in the debate.

Talking about dogs, as I said before, when a dog wearing a red collar is brutally killed, most Malaysians would quarrel over the red collar and whether it should have been another colour instead of debating the brutal manner in which the dog was killed.

What is Hudud? Hudud involves the type of punishment that certain crimes would attract. Some would view these punishments as unjust and barbaric. Others would view them as punishments prescribed by God and thus beyond debate or discussion.

All this, of course, depends on your religious beliefs. So how do you tell a Muslim that he or she is wrong just like how impossible would it be to tell Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, etc., that they are wrong, especially if you are someone who does not share their religious beliefs and is seen as trying to ‘teach’ them their own religion?

I get many Christians or Hindus whacking me and telling me to not talk about Christianity or Hinduism because I know nothing about their religion. That is more or less the same as how Muslims feel when non-Muslims try to ‘teach’ them Islam, in particular in matters regarding Islamic law.

I know non-Muslims are looking at Hudud from the perspective of the legal system. Hence they are not wrong when they comment on Hudud and make comments such as they do not support those laws. After all, laws are not the monopoly of just the Muslims.

Muslims, however, are not looking at Hudud from a purely legal aspect. They are looking at it from the perspective of it being God’s command. Would Christians oppose what they view as a command from God? Muslims feel the same way. God’s command cannot be opposed.

And herein lies the problem. Two people are looking at the same issue from two different perspectives. One perspective allows discussion and debate. In the other perspective, the door to discussion and debate is closed. It is a non-negotiable issue.

Hence, as long as one side looks at things from the legal aspect and the other from the aspect of a non-negotiable command from God, it is going to be a matter that will never see a resolution.

It is almost like Muslims trying to engage Catholics regarding the dogma of the Trinity and expecting the Catholics to ‘come around’ to the Muslim view that Jesus Christ was not divine but a mere man, exactly like Prophet Muhammad, and nothing more and nothing less.

In the first place, can the Catholics even accept Muhammad as the last Prophet after Christ, let alone accept Christ as equal to Muhammad? In short, this discussion is a non-starter and one that we might as well not bother to engage in.

Anyway, the pro-Umno Hudud versus pro-PAS Hudud, the liberals versus the conservatives, the Muslims versus the non-Muslims, whatever it may be, they are all overlooking a bigger issue than the form of punishment that Hudud prescribes on convicted criminals. And that would be the application or miss-application of Malaysian laws, never mind whether Hudud or whatever.

Let me give you one example. Under Hudud, Chin Peng must be allowed back into Malaysia. Rebellion is one of the crimes that are covered by Hudud. However, once the rebels lay down their arms, they must be pardoned and allowed back into society. They can no longer suffer punishment.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Malaysia adopts Hudud as part of the criminal law system. Can they now allow Chin Peng back into Malaysia? Under Hudud, he must be allowed back into Malaysia since he has signed a peace treaty with Malaysia and is no longer bearing arms.

If Malaysia still refuses to allow Chin Peng back into Malaysia then this is not Hudud. Those who are preventing Chin Peng from returning to Malaysia are violating God’s command. They are defying God. These Muslims who defy God and violate God’s command are called kufur.

Kufur is the act of those who change/distort God’s word or ‘modify/amend’ the Qur’an. And kufur basically makes you are a kafir or infidel. And some ulama are of the opinion that, according to Hudud, those Muslims who become kafir can be put to death.

Hence will all those Muslims who oppose Chin Peng being allowed back into Malaysia be marched to the public square and beheaded after Friday prayers in full view of thousands of Malaysian citizens like in Saudi Arabia?

Is it possible to behead 3.5 million Muslims, basically Umno members who oppose Chin Peng being allowed back into Malaysia, in one day or will they need a whole year of 365 days to do this? Even then they will need to behead about 10,000 people a day.

Hence, if you are a Communist, you should support Hudud because this would mean Chin Peng will be celebrating Christmas in Malaysia this year.

Okay, what about those who used to be sentenced to death when they commit a crime using firearms or those caught trafficking drugs? Will they still receive the death sentence? If you commit armed robbery, you will just have one of your hands cut off and are no longer given the death sentence. And will drug traffickers walk free since there is no death sentence for trafficking under Hudud?

Then we have a situation of a married man and a married woman being caught for adultery. The only problem is one partner is Muslim while the other is not. So will one partner be stoned to death while the other gets to walk home unharmed? Is this considered equal punishment under the law, which the Federal Constitution of Malaysia has guaranteed us?

It appears like there is no equality in Malaysia after all. What we have is discrimination. If you are Muslim you die and if you are not a Muslim they smile at you and pat you on the back and send you home.

I am sure after that millions of non-Muslims would be lining up outside the office of the religious department to convert to Islam. There are so many advantages in becoming a Muslim. There are separate laws for Muslims, which non-Muslims do not get to enjoy.

Our problem is not the punishment, which Hudud is all about. Our problem is the system, which is corrupt like hell. We already have capital punishment in Malaysia. However, for the right price, you can escape the gallows.

For between RM250,000 to RM10 million you can avoid the death sentence. However, you need to engage the ‘right’ lawyer to act for you. And the cost to avoid the death sentence will depend on who you are and how rich you are. The higher up the social and economic ladder you are, the higher the price.

Those who have no money will die. Those who can afford to pay can get to go home. Does it matter, therefore, whether the sentence is stoning, amputation, beheading, hanging, or whatever? It only affects poor people. It does not affect those who are rich.

Traffickers, who according to the law should be put to death, can walk out of jail due to ‘lack of evidence’. The arresting officer can ‘forget’ details regarding the day/night of the arrest. Two witnesses can ‘get confused’ and contradict one another. Evidence can be ‘misplaced’ and will never be found again. Evidence can be tampered with so that the charge sheet says one thing while the actual evidence does not tally with what the charge sheet says. And so on.

For the right price, you can escape the death sentence, even in cases of murder, which has happened so, so many times in Malaysia.

So why are we arguing about the punishment for crimes, Hudud or otherwise? Does it really matter what the punishment is when it means nothing in the end? A corrupt system can help you escape punishment anyway, whatever that punishment may be.

And if the government wants to get you, they can fix you up anyway, even if you are absolutely innocent.

Five people can testify in court that they found the gun/bullets or drugs in the boot of your car. You might scream that the gun/bullets or drugs are not yours but were planted in your car when the police stopped you at the roadblock. But it is your word against five others.

So you have to die. Or you can pay RM5 million and the five witnesses will contradict one other in court and you walk away a free man, but poorer by RM5 million.

So does it really matter what the punishment for crimes are and what type of punishment system we use when the system itself rather than the punishment is the problem? The problem is not the punishment. The problem is the manipulation of the system and the corruption in the system. Unless that is solved, Malaysians are never going to see justice, whether man-made justice or God’s form of justice.

And why are the proponents and opponents of Hudud not talking about this bigger and more serious problem? Are they so stupid that they do not know what is going on? Who the hell cares what the punishments are when the law can be ‘tailored’ depending on how rich you are and how much of an enemy to Umno you are?