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Kelantan to consider ‘smaller’ guillotine for thieves under hudud law, says report

Kelantan is mulling the use of a smaller form of the guillotine, similar to the one used during the French Revolution in 1793, to punish criminals, as the PAS-ruled state pushes to enforce the hudud law, The Star reported today.

The state's hudud law technical committee was reported to be considering the option as it finds it a suitable method to amputate limbs of those convicted of stealing.

Its chairman Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah told The Star that he would recommend the usage of the smaller guillotine as it would not require a surgeon to operate.

Amar, who is also the deputy menteri besar, said the guillotine was fast, effective and needed only one person to pull the lever, while two persons are required to hold down the offender. A doctor is needed to ensure the punished person does not suffer drastically, he said.

"I will make extensive studies on the method used during the French Revolution when guillotines were used to sever the heads of those sentenced to death," Amar told The Star.

Amar (pic, right) said a meeting had been chaired recently by Kota Baru MP Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, which included 8 muftis and several doctors.

"Among the issues discussed at the meeting were probable methods to mete out punishment under the Shariah Criminal Code II 1993," said Amar, who did not attend the meeting.

"I plan to attend the next meeting and propose the mini-guillotine idea for detailed discussions."

Kelantan's proposal to table two private member's bills in Parliament to make way for the state to implement hudud law had faced stiff opposition.

It also prompted DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke to urge PAS to leave Pakatan Rakyat.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reportedly said that the time was not right for Malaysia to have hudud.

The first bill was to provide wider powers to Shariah judges to hear and mete out sentences under the Shariah Penal Code, while the second bill was to allow federal agencies, such as the police and prisons department, to be used by Kelantan to enforce hudud laws.

Currently, under Article 76A of the Federal Constitution, crimes such as stealing, robbing, causing hurt, rape and murder come under the Penal Code.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said the reason PAS was making the implementation of hudud an issue was due to the weaknesses shown by Putrajaya.

He said the issue was never played up during his tenure as the government then was strong.

"Maybe PAS thinks the current government needs support, because during my time, we held absolute power with the two-thirds majority," Dr Mahathir said.

He added that PAS wanted to implement hudud in Kelantan to win votes.

"PAS is doing this just to gain political mileage, it is not about Islam," he said.

"If PAS goes ahead with their plan to implement hudud in Kelantan, Muslims will call it ‘Islamic’ and support the party."

He said the hudud issue was simply about becoming popular because Malaysia was a democratic country, and popularity will win a party votes.

Dr Mahathir said his stand on hudud has never changed, even though he was no longer in office.

"There is no justice if hudud is implemented because the hands of a Muslim thief are cut while a non-Muslim spends two months in prison.

"Is that justice? If it is not justice, then it is not Islamic," Dr Mahathir said.

He said he had written to PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat with an explanation that was based on Islam.

"My letter was not based on any secular issues or anything else. It was simply based on Islam.

"The Quran stresses that when a punishment is meted out, it must be fair and just.

"In Malaysia, there will be no justice if hudud is implemented because it is only applicable to Muslims, and exempts non-Muslims."

– November 16, 2014.

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