Constitution does not allow for hudud, says Bar Council

Both the Federal Constitution and the current legislative framework do not allow for hudud to be implemented by any state, said the Bar Council. Expressing its concern over the recent “political posturing” in reviving the possibility of implementing hudud, its president Lim Chee Wee called on all parties to instead uphold the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.
“Hudud cannot be implemented within the current constitutional and legislative framework,” he said.
“The Malaysian Bar calls upon all parties to uphold the Federal Cons-titution as the supreme law of the land and cease all rhetoric on the implementation of hudud, which has inevitably caused confusion and division.
“They should focus instead on strengthening the rule of law and democratic process,” he said, adding that a Supreme Court ruling in 1988 had confirmed Malaysia as a secular state.
The Federal Constitution, he said in a statement, only allowed the states to enact laws creating offences by persons professing Islam, against the precepts of Islam, and the respective punishments for such offences.
Senior lawyer Roger Tan said the power to legislate punishment for criminal offences was with Parlia-ment.
“To me, this is a very important issue as it is against the intention of our forefathers. If any non-Muslim does not respond strongly against PAS proposal, it is an act of acquiescence to the insidious attempt by the party to convert a secular state into a theocratic state,” he added.
Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong called for politicking to stop as DAP and PKR had entered with open eyes into a relationship with PAS.
“PAS has made it very clear from the start that it planned to make Malaysia an Islamic state should it come to power.
“It has never said that it will forgo this. Do not play political games,” said the Independent MP.