According to MGG Pillai in his article, Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be protected from prosecution should he be removed as prime minister ([#1]Mahathir deserves immunity[/#], April 2). This may well be possible under the current laws of Malaysia, where the prerogative to prosecute is held by the Attorney-General, who in turn is answerable only to the prime minister of the day. In fact, the prerogative of mercy exercised by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can also be used to grant immunity or pardon to Mahathir.

However, as a Muslim, Mahathir is also subject to the laws of the syariah. Islamic law does not grant immunity to the head of state, let alone a mere head of government like Mahathir. Under the syariah, if Mahathir is successfully prosecuted for corruption, he is bound under the same punishment as that allocated for common thieves. In other words, one of Mahathir's hands should be cut off.

Members of Mahathir's family and other friends of the prime minister who have illegally benefitted from his alleged abuse of power would also find themselves losing their limbs, under the strict interpretation of the laws of Islam. Neither age, nor sex, would provide an excuse against this Quranic punishment.

But of course, in spite of being a Muslim, Mahathir believes that Islamic law is barbaric and outdated. To those of us who have always found this position a paradox, perhaps we can now attribute it to a personal fear that Islamic law may be used in the end to sever the hands of a man who had held supreme power in Malaysia for 20 years.