Hudud in Malaysia can be applied to everyone, says Islamic scholar

‎It is possible to enforce hudud in Malaysia as the country is not secular and already applies aspects of Islamic criminal law in the Penal Code, an Islamic scholar said today.

Faculty of Sharia and Law, Islamic Science University of Malaysia lecturer Dr Zulkifli Hasan said at a forum today that anti-hudud arguments, such as Malaysia's secular and multiracial status, were void as ‎Islam was recognised as the official religion in Malaysia.

"We are not a secular country. On the contrary, we place Islam at the highest position‎... our efforts to enforce hudud should be seen as part of our fight to strengthen God's law," said Zulkifli at the forum titled "Hudud: Challenges in implementation" at the Shah Alam state mosque today.

He said hudud could be made a part of the country's Penal Code, or a second Penal Code could be created to include hudud offences, such as adultery, pre-marital sex, alcohol consumption and stealing.

"We can Islamise the Penal Code, whether it is through amending the code or by creating a second one," said Zulkifli at the forum organised by Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim).

"Hence, hudud can be applied to all Malaysians, just like Islamic finance. The government accepts Islamic financing because it is beneficial. Hudud, too, is beneficial because it brings peace.”

He said that while this required only a simple majority in Parliament, it would likely trigger opposition from the public as the Penal Code would be enforced on all Malaysians, regardless of faith.

Another option would be to amend the Penal Code to only incorporate hudud offences related to public interests, such as thieving and robbery, he said.

Hence, Muslims and non-Muslims alike would face amputation if found guilty of stealing, said Zulkifli, noting that this would ensure fairness in society.

Meanwhile, hudud related to "personal offences" such as adultery and drinking could be limited to Muslims only by making them a part of the state laws.

Another option was to forego the Penal Code entirely and only enforce hudud through a state enactment, which Kelantan was seeking through a private member's bill, said Zulkifli.

"This can be done by amending the Federal Constitution if the law is to be applied to non-Muslims."

Zulkifli said a two-thirds majority was required to amend the Constitution and that would be difficult.

However, Zulkifli said that if the laws on illicit sex and alcohol consumption were to be subjected to Muslims alone, it would be suffice for the government to grant power to the states to amend their own enactment.

But ‎Zulkifli said Malaysia's infrastructure must be made conducive for hudud before it was enforced, to avoid the law being abused like in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

"Legally, it is possible to implement hudud any time. But we will face many issues and predicament in terms of prosecution.”

However, he said this was no excuse to not enforce hudud, as the government could take the initiative to educate the rakyat on the Islamic criminal law.

"If the government can hold roadshows, create posters and songs for the goods and services tax, why can't they do that for hudud?

‎"The rakyat must know that hudud is a deterrent law enforced to prevent people from committing crime, and is not about punishing the people." – May 11, 2014.