Brunei’s sultan announces strict Islamic penalties
Print Edition
Brunei’s sultan announced yesterday that a new Islamic criminal law that could include penalties like amputation for theft and stoning for adultery will be enforced in six months.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said the Shariah Penal Code, which would be applied to Muslims only, should be regarded as a form of special guidance from God and would be “part of the great history” of the tiny, oil-rich monarchy on Borneo Island.
“By the grace of Allah, with the coming into effect of this legislation, our duty to Allah is therefore being fulfilled,” the sultan said at a legal conference.
Brunei’s Shariah Islamic court previously handled mainly family-related disputes. The sultan has been hoping to implement the new law for years to bolster the influence of Islam in Brunei, where Muslims comprise about two-thirds of the population of nearly 420,000 people.
The minorities are mainly Buddhist, Christians and people of local indigenous beliefs.
Brunei’s Mufti Awang Abdul Aziz, the country’s top Islamic scholar, told the conference that the Shariah law “guarantees justice for everyone and safeguards their well-being.”
“Let us not just look at the hand-cutting or the stoning or the caning, but let us also look at the conditions governing them,” Awang said. “It is not indiscriminate cutting or stoning or caning. There are conditions and there are methods that are just and fair.”
Under secular laws, Brunei already prescribes caning as a penalty for crimes including immigration offenses, for which convicts can be flogged with a rattan cane.
Awang said there should be no concerns that foreign travelers might end up avoiding Brunei after the law is implemented.
“Please listen to our answer. Sir, do all potential tourists to Brunei plan to steal? If they do not, then what do they need to fear,” he said. “Believe me when I say that with our Shariah criminal law, everyone, including tourists, will receive proper protection.”
Sultan Hassanal, reigned since 1967, is Brunei’s head of state with full executive authority.
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