TWO Malaysian women have been sentenced to caning after they admitted having sex in contravention of strict Islamic laws, an official said today, sparking outrage from rights groups.
Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have increasingly faced pressure in the Muslim-majority country in recent years, with officials frequently accused of targeting them.
The women, aged 22 and 32, were arrested in April by Islamic enforcement officers after they were found in a car in a public square in northern Terengganu state, one of the most conservative areas of the country.
They were brought before an Islamic court on Sunday and admitted to breaking a sharia law that forbids sexual relations between women.
They were sentenced to six strokes of the cane each and fined RM3,300, Mohamad Khasmizan Abdullah, a prosecutor with the Terengganu religious department told AFP.
“This is a serious case. The prosecutors urged the court to impose the maximum sentence,” Khasmizan said.
He said if the sentence was carried out, they would be the first women to be caned in Terengganu for breaking Islamic laws. They are free on bail and their sentence is set to be carried out on August 28, although they have the right to appeal.
Caning is conducted out of public view in Malaysia.
Malaysia operates a dual-track legal system and Islamic courts can handle religious and family matters, as well as cases such as adultery.
Malaysian Muslims, who make up over 60% of the country’s 32 million inhabitants, have traditionally practised a tolerant brand of Islam but concerns have been growing in recent years that attitudes are becoming more conservative.
A statement released by rights groups Justice for Sisters, and endorsed by other campaign groups, criticised the women’s sentence as “torture”.
“Criminalisation of consensual sex between adults is a gross violation of human rights,” it said. – AFP
Don’t drive LGBT community away from Islam, Fuziah urges
KUALA LUMPUR — “What is haram is haram” but the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group has to be approached with compassion and respect, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh.
She said the best way to tackle the issue was not to alienate the group as it would only drive them further away from Islam.
“In our religion, what is haram is haram and that there is no compromise about that.
“If we alienate the group, which has been done before, how are they supposed to live in dignity because we did not accept them at workplace and shun them away from public places, and sometimes look upon them as if they are dirt.”
“So, the way we approach them can be different to ensure that it will not drive them further away from Islam.
“I like to make it very clear that we are here to safeguard the den, but at the same time upholding the jurisdiction.”
Fuziah said this during a question-and-answer session at the International Malaysia Law Conference (IMLC) 2018, themed ‘Raising The Bar By Preserving and Furthering the Rule of Law’, here today.
The four-day conference aims to empower lawyers to meet the modern challenges of internalisation of legal services and to prepare lawyers to seize opportunities as they arise.
Among present were Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zaharah Ibrahim. — Bernama
AFP / BERNAMA
Do any person of a sound mind if being offered to hv sexual intercourse with their same sex willing to take it up which i think is very unlikely. So please think for a while that this must have happen due to one of them experiencing changes of hormone. Please base on facts where scince can prove it not belief. Please find a solution for the so called unfortunate minority. Be fair and God will have mercy on you.
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