It's all fast becoming a very big joke, although I'm not exactly laughing.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was caught drinking beer in a hotel lounge last year. For that she was arrested and then when found guilty of the offence, was fined and then given the penalty of caning. But of course since she is a good Muslim, she's willing to be caned because she respects the law. In fact, she's requesting for the caning to be carried out in public. And if that's not weird enough, she can't even wait to be caned too! Such a good citizen and one has to wonder how she ended up drinking beer in the first place.
Now while the entire nation becomes excited about this comedy, the people who're supposed to carry out the punishment are apparently unsure of what's their next course of action. Thankfully, though, now is the fasting month; so the authority is able to buy a bit of time to delay the punishment. Therefore it's been announced that the sentence, though still remains, will only be carried after the fasting month. Unless I am mistaken, no specific date has been announced so far.
But that's no good as far as Kartika is concerned. She wants that caning—now! That's her point! And because the caning is still not done yet, she has lodged a police report to—and this is the comical part—pre-empt potential accusations.
Elsewhere in this blog, I've mentioned that lodging police reports is a favourite national pastime in Malaysia. Politicians do it all the time, and I have a shrewd suspicion that they're doing it for fun too. And this is yet another milestone in the police report nonsense—to pre-empt potential accusations.
Then again, I now have a brilliant idea; I will try to find the time within the next few days to lodge a police report myself to pre-empt potential accusations against me! Now I'm not saying that this will actually happen, but who knows if my neighbour's puppy which barks non-stop annoyingly round the clock, disturbing everyone's sleep, might just suddenly fall dead due to, say, strychnine poisoning, then at least I have already lodged a police report. So obviously I would be safe. And I would be really happy too, for I'll then be able to have peaceful sleeps once again.
In the mean time, while I have to admit that I did not agree to the caning penalty for drinking beer at first, I think now I am able to live with it. Perhaps a person who's not quite right up there—seeking fame through the punishment—deserves that punishment after all.
7 comments:
I read on CNN she wants to have it done to "get it over with" because it has been stressing her out and keeping her from being able to live her life.. I read that her father is against her trying to make it public, but I am actually happy she is doing all of this. Simply because she is casting the entire world's eye on Malaysia through her pleas to make it public, and maybe this is ultimately what she wants, so Malaysian laws can be scrutinized by outsiders, or maybe just so she can see herself in the headlines... Who knows, all I know is that it is playing on CNN, so she got what she wanted.
At first I felt critical because a Muslim is not allowed freedom of religon, as in, deciding NOT to practice Islam. If a Muslim in Malaysia decides they do not want to be Muslim they are punished, and must keep up the facade that they are a good Muslim, even if possibly they do not want to be.
This case shows me that
Muslims do not have freedom of religion in a Muslim country. They do not have the freedom to dissent.
This was what bothered me most about the whole situation, more than the fact that she drank, or even that she is going to be caned. I think it is more the message behind it that bothers me.
Sarah,
1. it's syariah law. not malaysian law
2. does this supposedly "no freedom of religion" affect YOU? If the very people affected are not complaining who are you to judge other people's religion and their authority over their religion.
3. Why should MALAYSIAN laws be scrutinized by outsiders?
Yes, I know that it is Shariah law, that is why I said "Muslim Country".. I am saying that Shariah law does not allow for dissent.
Yes, this supposed no freedom of religon DOES affect me, because eventually I will be living in Malaysia, possibly for the rest of my life, so YES, IT AFFECTS ME and my thoughts about being a Muslim in Malaysia. Because I AM MUSLIM and will have no choice about having to abide by Shariah in Malaysia. Muslims in Malaysia ARE complaining, not all, but some. Mostly the college educated.
I am not saying Malaysian laws should be criticized by outsiders, I am saying POSSIBLY that was what she was trying to do by making it public, just as another woman did in Sudan when she was punished for wearing pants. She made it public and told them to cane her so the world would hear about it.. It was her way of protesting something she did not agree with.
Maybe this girl in Malaysia is trying to do the same thing. I don't know, I cannot say, it was just my opinion, hence my saying WHO KNOWS. Maybe also she just wants attention... I DON'T KNOW
the reason I said I was happy it was made public is because I got to hear about it. Malaysia is rarely in the mainstream media in America and I am glad that it showed simply because I like to hear news out of Malaysia. This point is probably controversial because I am sure many Malaysians do not want the world to hear about it, and probably don't want to hear what Americans, or anyone else, thinks about it.. With that said, I did not mean my comment in a prejudice way, I am merely commenting on a friend's blog. Malaysia interests me because I will be lving my life and raising my children there someday soon.
Delurk, I know you would like to paint me as the ignorant Westerner, alas, I probably am, but I am not an Orientalist, and I do not believe I need to judge other countries nor do I need to scrutinize laws simply because they are not what would happen in America. Anyone with a brain knows that America is pretty messed up, so I am not deluded into thinking somehow our laws are superior.
I am merely speculating because it will affect my entire life once I move. To be honest, I am not used to living under religious law, I am used to a secular state.
It is not "supposedly" no freedom of religion. Converting to another religion is punishable for Muslims under Shariah, dissent is punishable. Do I want to convert? No, that is not the point.
This girl getting caned is not the point either.. Like I said, it is the message behind it that I have a distaste for, maybe because I am a Westerner, I don't know. But I do not like a rigid stance toward dissent. To me dissent is a part of religious freedom.
Sarah,
I can understand your interest in the goings on in Malaysia.
I think you ought to brace up for some surprises about Malaysia. I don't know what gave you the idea of freedom of religion in Malaysia, but let me tell you now that there is no such thing as freedom of religion in Malaysia - at least not the kind you talk of.
I'd like to share with you the story of a woman I used to know some years ago. Her dad was a Muslim, her mom was a Kadazan who converted to Islam when she married her dad. Of course she had no choice but to be a Muslim. Yes, that's the law in Malaysia - other religions must convert to Islam.
Well, anyway, this woman fell in love with a Christian Kadazan man. And unfortunately, that man was a religious man. So who do you think will sacrifice and convert to the other's religion? Well, the man was not willing to leave his religion. The woman was willing to convert to Christianity. Her dad was mad, of course... he did not allow it! But the daughter was adamant, she already made up her mind.
But in the end she had to forget about converting to Islam because she received an anonymous letter threatening that someone will pour acid on her face if she converted to Christianity.
These are the people who claim themselves as good Muslims, and they truly believe that they're doing good for the religion. They see their acts as protecting Islam. In a small way, it is Jihad.
I have many more stories about the situation here in Malaysia. As I said, I think you are up for some surprises when you actually live here. I'd advise you to start forgetting about equal rights and all those nonsense what you have in America.
The good thing, however, is that Malaysia will be quite agreeable to you, because you are a Muslim! So you need not worry about religion.
Taken as a whole, however, I'd prefer Malaysia than America. Our people are suppressed in many ways. But I'm not a great fan of street demonstrations etc. We have lots of those in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. But it would be nice if there's less corruption in the government... sigh.
FYI, she is the 5th person to be caned. Not the 1st as reported earlier. But the other 4 people are still waiting for their outcome of the court, cos they have appeal. And all the cases was since last year....
Can you imagine that? It's take so long to do the punishment.....anyway, I have seen alot of muslim people drinking in the pubs, karaoke or wedding reception of their friends....but no one cares...I have friends who are muslim and they drink too....
Stoney,
Strictly speaking, Kartika would have been the first to be caned. No one said that there are no other people charged with the same offence. If the authority did not change their minds about the date of the caning, Kartika would have been the first.
And yes, it is common knowledge that many, many muslims - men and women - drink alcohol all the time, even the muslim politicians.
But then again this is Malaysia. The law is not quite consistent all the time. A politician was tried for corruption and taken into custody. The big boss of the police force took the opportunity to beat the fellow up while he's in prison. He did it in a cowardly fashion too. He ordered his men to blindfold the prisoner before he beat him up.
But the whole thing came out in the end. The politician was found guilty of corruption; and the police boss was also found guilty for beating up a prisoner. The politician got several years imprisonment. The police boss got 2 months (or was it one month?).
So now we have a muslim beer drinker who gets 6 strokes of the cane; and a dad who raped his own 14-year old daughter gets imprisonment and 3 strokes of the cane. And thousands other muslim drinkers don't get punishment at all.
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