Is this the best type of leader that PAS can offer?

So no, the answer does not lie in God’s laws. In fact, God’s laws were actually the problem because it was so easy to manipulate the so-called Word of God and no one dared question the injustice lest they be accused of being anti-God.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The PAS Youth chief, Nasrudin Hassan, wants the Islamic criminal laws known as Hudud to be implemented in the country. “The existing legal system has not been successful, so there is a need for an alternative system,” he said -- and he cited the gruesome murder of businesswoman Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others as an example of the failure of the current system.

The issue here is not whether I support or oppose the enactment of Hudud. The issue is the quality of the PAS Youth leader’s argument. And if this is the best that PAS can offer in terms of leadership then I do not have much hope for this party.

First of all, PAS told us that all Islamic laws, Hudud included, would not apply to non-Muslims but only to Muslims. If this is true then why quote the example of the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya? This woman was allegedly killed by Indian Hindus, not by Malay Muslims. And since Hudud applies only to Muslims then it does not matter whether Malaysia does or does not implement these Islamic laws. It would not have deterred these Indian Hindus from killing Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya because they would have been exempted from these laws anyway.

Now, if Hudud, an Islamic law, will also apply to non-Muslims, then why only Hudud? There are many Islamic laws, Hudud being just one of them. If Hudud will apply to non-Muslims as well, then all the other Islamic laws must also apply to non-Muslims.

Will non-Muslims get arrested for drinking beer? Will non-Muslims get arrested for not attending the Friday prayers in the mosque? Will non-Muslims get arrested for bonking a woman who is not his wife? And so on.

If the answer is ‘no’, if non-Muslims are exempted from all these Islamic laws, then they should also be exempted from Hudud, which is one of many Islamic laws.

Is this fair? Non-Muslims can commit serious crimes and get exemption from Islamic laws. Muslims who commit serious crimes get punished under Islamic laws. So Muslims who commit murder get dragged into the public square after Friday prayers and get beheaded. Non-Muslims relax in jail.

So, if I get arrested and charged for murder, all I need to do is to tell the court that I had in fact renounced Islam a long time ago and then I escape punishment under Hudud. Or will I instead get charged for apostasy and get put to death for leaving Islam? So, I escape the punishment for murder under Hudud but I still die for apostasy.

So you see, PAS leaders like Nasrudin Hassan need to think things through carefully before they open their mouths or else people might start forming an opinion that all PAS leaders are outdated and narrow-minded country bumpkins.

“The existing legal system has not been successful, so there is a need for an alternative system,” said Nasrudin Hassan.

Ah, so now he whacks the system and blames that for the problems facing the country. The system is not working so we abolish the system and we replace it with another more workable system.

Is it really a system failure or an implementation (human) failure? Any system, when badly or wrongly implemented, or implemented with mala fide intent, will fail. So is it a system failure or a human failure?

A Constitutional Monarchy is good. There is nothing wrong with this system. But when it is used to topple a legitimately elected state government, like what happened in Perak, then what do we do? Do we remove the Monarchy and change Malaysia into a Republic? Do we blame the system or the manipulation of the system?

Why is the present legal system bad? And how can Hudud improve things? This is where Nasrudin Hassan needs to present his case and convince Malaysians that things would improve by removing the British system in favour of an Islamic system. By just quoting the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya as an example of a failed system without further explanation on how Hudud could have prevented her murder is a stupid argument not befitting someone of the status of a PAS Youth leader.

The failure of the present system is not because it happens to be a British system and that by abolishing it in favour of an Islamic system all our problems would be solved. The failure of the present system is because the so-called Muslims managing the system are corrupt to the core.

The Muslim political leaders are corrupt. The Muslim civil servants are corrupt. The Muslim judges are corrupt. The Muslim police officers are corrupt. The Muslim MACC officers are corrupt. The Muslim public prosecutors are corrupt. The Muslim lawyers representing criminals are corrupt and they bribe judges to fix their clients’ cases.

And so on.

It is not that there are no corrupt non-Muslims as well. There are. In fact, there are as many corrupt non-Muslims as there are corrupt Muslims. But it is the Muslims and not the non-Muslims who are asking for Hudud to be implemented so I am focusing my argument on the so-called righteous Muslims who are actually very corrupt and not righteous at all.

You mean to say that every single PAS leader and member is above corruption? Come on! Some PAS people are also corrupt. As what Ibrahim Ali said: the only difference between PAS and Umno is that the PAS people utter ‘Bismillah’ before they take a bribe whilst Umno people do not.

Malaysia can abolish the present legal system. Malaysia can adopt Islamic laws such as Hudud. But if Muslim judges, police officers, MACC investigators, lawyers and public prosecutors can be bribed to rig cases then no system in the world will work.

You mean to tell me that corrupt Muslim judges, police officers, public prosecutors, lawyers, and so on, who are involved in Hudud-related cases will not take bribes? If they normally take bribes then they will take bribes notwithstanding what the occasion is. It does not matter whether the case is under Hudud laws or common laws.

Hudud is merely the punishment. But before the criminals can be punished they must first be put on trial. For a fee the AG’s Chambers can declare that the case is NFA (no further action) because of ‘lack of evidence’. For a fee the police can declare that they investigated the case and found no evidence of guilt. For a fee the judge can declare that no prima facie case had been made against the accused and discharge the accused without the defence being called.

Can Hudud solve the crime problem when cases can be rigged and criminals can bribe Muslim officials to get off?

What about if they fabricate evidence against a political enemy of those who walk in the corridors of power and an innocent man is punished? An innocent person can face punishment if the police, AG and judge say that the person is guilty even if that person is not.

Can Hudud prevent this from happening? How can Hudud ensure that the system remains free of corruption and abuse?

Nasrudin Hassan, please study history. Once upon a time the western world also implemented God’s law. But the church was so corrupt that injustice prevailed. The church eliminated the enemies of the many kings of Europe by using God’s laws as the weapon. Innocent people suffered because they opposed the church and/or the kings. In the name of God religious people killed those who did not kowtow to the powers-that-be.

We have gone down this road before. And life began to improve only when the people revolted and overthrew their corrupted leaders and got rid of God’s laws in favour of democratic republics.

So no, the answer does not lie in God’s laws. In fact, God’s laws were actually the problem because it was so easy to manipulate the so-called Word of God and no one dared question the injustice lest they be accused of being anti-God.

If the system is not working then don’t change the system. Get rid of the people who are manipulating and corrupting the system.

For that matter, the Westminster system of government also does not seem to be working. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat garners 50% of the popular vote but can’t win 50% of the seats. Barisan Nasional can still form the federal government even if they garner only 45% of the popular vote. Pakatan Rakyat would have to garner 60% of the popular vote to be able to form the federal government.

This means, under the present system, Pakatan Rakyat can never form the federal government because it is impossible for it to garner 60% of the popular vote with the election fraud, phantom voters, postal voting, gerrymandering, and so on, going on.

So what do we do? Do we abolish general elections? If we do then how do we choose our government? Or do we just let the military run the country?

What we must do is to get rid of the corrupt Muslims heading the Elections Commission (SPR). It is the Muslims in the SPR who are the problem. And no Islamic system can improve things if the Muslims who are supposed to be the implementers are corrupt.

“We have opened up our doors to everyone including our partners in Pakatan for a discussion. I don’t think that goes against the spirit of Pakatan Rakyat that aims to form a just government,” said Nasrudin Hassan.

My dear Nasrudin Hassan, justice cannot be achieved this way. Justice, which is supposed to be the foundation of Islam, can only be achieved when Muslims can understand what the word justice means. Currently they do not.

Muslims talk about justice. But there is no justice in their hearts. Their hearts are black with injustice.

This is where the problem lies.

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PAS Youth insists on hudud for serious crimes

(The Malaysian Insider) - The PAS Youth insisted today that the enactment of Islamic criminal laws would prevent serious crimes from taking place, reopening a controversy that broke an earlier opposition pact in 2001.

The Islamic criminal laws also known as Hudud allows for amputation and death by stoning for serious crimes, and has been a sore point among Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties which had formed Barisan Alternatif (BA) in the 1999 elections only to see it fall apart later.

The coalition however managed to reach at its inaugural convention last year when the introduction of Hudud law was dropped from the PR’s common policy framework.

“The existing legal system has not been successful, so there is a need for an alternative system,” PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan told a press conference.

He cited the gruesome murder of businesswoman Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others as an example of failure of the current system. Police said the four were bludgeoned and later burnt but are awaiting forensic results before charging several suspects.

“We have opened up our doors to everyone including our partners in Pakatan for a discussion.”

“I don’t think that goes against the spirit of Pakatan Rakyat that aims to form a just government,” said Nasrudin when pointed out that the proposal for Islamic law was not part of PR policy.

“Now we are asking the government to do it. If it is proven to be successful, I don’t think anyone will oppose it including Pakatan,” he added.

Kelantan was the first state to enact Islamic criminal law when PAS took over the government in 1990. The Terengganu government under PAS also did the same in 2000, but both states have not been able to enforce the law because of doubts over the legality of the enactment.

“What was enacted in Kelantan and Terengganu maybe can be introduced at the federal level,” said Nasrudin.

“It is a comprehensive law but could not be enforced because of legal obstacles,” he said.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) has proclaimed Malaysia as an Islamic nation but has not made moves to enact hudud laws, citing the country’s multi-racial mix.