PAS retreats after doctors slam proposal to use them for punitive amputation

(FMT) – PAS said there was no need to discuss a suggestion that the services of surgeons be used to carry out punitive amputation under hudud, after such a proposal by the Kelantan government was condemned by the medical community.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man also questioned health director-general for criticising the suggestion by Kelantan deputy menteri besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, who had said the punitive amputation when done by doctors would ensure that other parts of the body were not harmed.

Tuan Ibrahim said the discussion was irrelevant as there is currently no such laws in Malaysia.

“Even in the amendments to Act 355 which has not been passed does not entail such a law,” he said, referring to PAS’s efforts to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

“Before discussing who would carry out the procedure, there has to be a law that calls for such a procedure first,” he said.

Several prominent doctors recently criticised Nik Amar, saying they were not in the business of punitive amputation but to save lives.

“He should know that the medical profession is the noblest profession on earth and that it is morally wrong to suggest such a heinous act against another human being in the name of religion,” said Dr Farouk Musa, who was trained as a surgeon and now teaches at Monash University Malaysia.

Farouk, who also head the Islamic Renaissance Front, said Kelantan should instead focusing on other problems in the state instead of talking about plans that had yet to be realised.

US-based Malaysian surgeon and political commentator Dr M Bakri Musa rubbished Nik Amar’s statement, saying it was “idiotic”.

“They are in the position to govern and solve the problems facing the rakyat and they busy themselves with such silly things as the cutting off of hands,” he told FMT.

Echoing their view, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the government would not allow doctors to carry out punitive amputation.

“Both the health ministry and Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) are clear about this,” he said.