A survey has shown that 58 percent of Malay respondents feel the country is not ready for the implementation of hudud, despite 71 percent of them expressing support for the Islamic criminal law.

As for the Chinese and Indians, the percentages were at 59 percent and 61 percent respectively.

The survey carried out in April by independent pollster Merdeka Center saw the participation 1,009 voters from all races.

With regard to supporting hudud, the survey found a small majority (53 percent) of the respondents stated that they support hudud.

“This number comprised 71 percent Malay respondents and both 26 percent of Chinese and Indian respondents respectively.

“It should be noted that 20 percent of the Malay respondents opposed hudud, along with 65 percent and 69 percent Chinese and Indian respondents respectively,” Merdeka Center said.

It said Malay voters under the age of 30 registered the highest level of support, at 83 percent, compared with those in the older age groups, consistent with the centre’s earlier findings in a 2011 study of the sentiments of Muslim youths.

The survey also found that only 25 percent of the total respondents and 30 percent of the Malay respondents believed that the country is ready for hudud to be implemented at this time.

It also showed that based on what respondents perceived as “the capacity of the judicial institutions and capability of the enforcement agencies”, only 32 percent believed that hudud could be implemented fairly at the present time.

Malays split on 'fair implementation' of hudud

However, Malay responses to this question found the community split, with 44 percent saying the implementation of hudud would be “fair” while 43 percent thought otherwise.

Among other communities, perceptions were clearly in the negative, with only 11 percent of the Chinese and 17 percent of the Indians responding positively to the question.

The survey also found that only 56 percent of the respondents said they understood what hudud was about.

This figure comprised 67 percent of the Malay, 38 percent Chinese and 51 percent Indian respondents.

“Among the Malay respondents, the survey found high support for hudud and yet at the same time, a low level of readiness to see it implemented.

“In our opinion, this possibly reflects their desire to conform to established norms about the primacy of the syariah laws at a personal level, but at the same time indicate hesitation to see it fully implemented publicly," Merdeka Center said.

The 1,009 participants in the survey were interviewed by telephone. The respondents were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and state of residence.

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