Kartika, Whipping and Malaysia’s Image

1. This case has now brought about an international frenzy, and everyone seems to have something to say about it. It’s fair to say this is now an emotional issue and is being as a litmus test on Malaysia’s positioning and posturing on Islam and the basis of a Syariah-based administration. The PM is on record on saying it’s best to emphasise more on tarbiyyah rather than punitive punishment.
2. Let’s tackle the various concerns head-on, which are a) this is ‘barbaric’ and does not educate (b) this will create international outrage, (c) more intangibly, Syariah-law is subservient to civil law, and at the first opportunity to run it down, let’s all bloody do it!
3. For point (a) I suppose there could be an argument for this. Umar r.a. himself was reportedly had softened hudud laws where it would be more advantageous to do so. Here, what is the educational value that we seek to bring about here? Under the current circumstances, society at large will reject this punishment, and vocal Muslims will be at the forefront of this opposition and bring about a clarion call for non Muslims who abhor Islamic restrictions on their way of life an amplified voice against Islam. We’ve seen a similar dynamic, but on a much greater scale, with 9/11, and suicide bombings without a cause as seen in Jakarta.
4. As for international outrage, I would think there is very little to be worried about here. People have raised this issue of the backwardness of Taliban-style Muslim leadership when a Chief Minister wears his white turban and tunic for the past 19 years in the form of Nik Aziz, but yet this did not prevent them from hailing Nik Aziz as a paragon of virtue if it fits their political aims. Hypocrisy at its worst!
5. And going on from point 2(c) and point 3 is the ultimate danger in this. There is nothing wrong with Syariah law. But perceptions cloud our mind.
6. I would think that had this not been the punishment, it wouldn’t create this controversy, as once it has, there is no other option other than to execute it. Backing down would create impressions that we are not serious about Syariah law to regulate the lives of Muslims, although in its present form too, it is not reflective of the Syariah justice as it was intended to be. Khalwat cases are nothing more than soft slaps on wrists, rather than the heavy punishment meted out for zina, although in no way am I equating khalwat to zina here, just a comparison of the various forms of punishment which we take.
7. Kartika wanted it. Let’s not question her intention to do that. In the best of cases, she wants to repent and clear her conscience in this world. And if this is how she views her religious beliefs, then so be it. We don’t stop kavadi carrying devotees to self-mutilate themselves, although the trance-like state apparently prevents pain or scarrings to occur, but that is their religious belief and we will have to respect that. That should be the essence of Islam, and furthermore Islam in a multi-racial society.
8. Let’s prevent this frenzy to develop any further.