Karim acknowledged the right of individual states to enact laws that allow for offenders to be caned in public but said the existing penalties in place in Sarawak already meet the state’s present needs.
“Looking at the situation in Sarawak, I doubt that public caning will be imposed here. We don’t need it. The set of punishments presently available is sufficient,” he told FMT.
The senior Gabungan Parti Sarawak leader said due respect must be given to the laws of each state. He also said the question as to whether the punishment was cruel or inhumane was an entirely separate matter.
He noted that caning under shariah law was not similar to the whippings prescribed by the Penal Code, adding that the former was not as forceful and designed to serve as a deterrent.
“If members of the public feel that the law is cruel or humiliating, then they should raise their concerns with the government or through the media.”
Last week, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin urged all states to follow Terengganu’s lead by introducing public caning for certain shariah offences.
Hashim’s comments came after repeat khalwat offender Affendi Awang, 42, was caned six times in front of 90 witnesses at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque in Kuala Terengganu last Friday.
The punishment has since been criticised by various quarters, including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) which accused the Terengganu shariah court of overstepping its jurisdiction.
Two Sarawak activists—Francis Paul Siah, of the Movement for Change for Sarawak, and Saya Anak Sarawak founder Peter John Jaban—rejected the idea outright, saying it was a barbaric practice and a relic of 19th century colonial rule. - FMT
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