By Adib Zalkapli
PUTRAJAYA, Feb 19 — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin (picture) today defended the caning of women under Syariah laws, saying it is mild and will not affect the country’s image.
“Under the Islamic approach it is more to educate to make them repent, the punishment is mild,” said Muhyiddin, comparing it to whipping under civil laws.
He was asked to comment on the wide coverage given by the international media on the caning which was the first for women in the country.
“Whether it will cause a different impression on the situation in Malaysia, that is up to the international community,” said Muhyiddin.
“But I can see now the media has been giving a lot of explanation,” he added.
On opposition to the punishment from local NGOs Muhyiddin said it is important for these groups to understand that such laws had been enacted and in some states the federal government cannot interfere with the matter.
“It was enacted for some time by the states, this is not under the federal’s jurisdiction,” he said adding that the Islamic authorities will continue to create awareness on how caning is executed under the syariah laws.
On Wednesday Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said three women were found guilty of having illicit sex and had the caning sentence meted out to them early this month at the Kajang Prison.
The trio were found guilty of committing illicit sex under Section 23 (2) of the Federal Territory Syariah Criminal Act 1997.
The Home Ministry made the revelation because of the ongoing debate on the caning sentence against a Muslim woman Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno who was caught consuming alcohol in Pahang.
The three said they “deserved” their punishment and that it would help stem sex outside marriage but the punishment angered human rights activists and some lawyers who say the punishments are illegal in this mainly Muslim country that runs parallel civil and Islamic justice systems.
“I deeply regret my actions as I should have married before having sex,” the New Straits Times newspaper quoted one of the women who it said was aged 17, as saying in its Friday edition.
The newspaper did not reveal the real names of the women, and a picture showed the three clad in traditional Malaysian dress and headscarves seated before reporters.
The 17-year old said that she had become pregnant and gone into labour while at school, losing the baby, and then had turned herself in to the authorities last December.
A second woman said she had to support her family after her father left home and had a three-year-old daughter out of wedlock. She said that she too turned herself in due to feelings of guilt.
All three women were caned on February 9 and the punishments were announced by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein on Wednesday.
Hishammuddin said they were “carried out perfectly”.
The punishment of six strokes of the rattan is carried out while the women are fully clothed and while they are seated. The person administering the punishment is not allowed to raise their arm above shoulder level.
“Even though the caning did not injure them, the three women said it caused pain within their souls,” Hishammuddin said.
His announcement that the three women had been caned comes amid a continuing controversy over a similar sentence imposed last year on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor for consuming beer.
Government officials, hoping to avoid any criticisms, had asked her to appeal the sentence. She refused, and instead, asked for the caning to be expedited.
Faced with domestic and foreign criticisms and fearful of the effect the caning of a woman would have on Malaysia’s image as a moderate Muslim country, officials continued to delay carrying out the sentence.
Recently, religious officials in Pahang, where Kartika was sentenced, said the caning issue would only be decided after she has an audience with the Tengku.
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