Several opposition leaders and organisations today objected to de facto Law Minister Dr Rais Yatims proposal to implement public whipping on those who commit incest.

Rais said yesterday there was a good chance that the government would approve public punishment for incest crimes which are on the rise.

Opposition party DAP, in a strong objection to the proposal, said it may have serious repercussions on the countrys constitution and legal system as public punishments are not acceptable in modern societies and is not a practice in any democratic country.

Public whipping in the present age and time would be incongruous with the rule of law ...[and] will bring the country into international revulsion, said DAP deputy chairperson Karpal Singh in a press statement today.

Karpal urged the government not to resort to panic measures as past experience with the toughening of penalties towards perpetrators of firearms-related offences and drug-related crimes had proved to be insufficient deterrents.

DAP Youth national secretary Hew Kuan Yau suggested that the plans to implement public whipping could yet be another Islamisation race between Umno and PAS to prove their respective religious credentials.

Implementing public whipping or stoning to death is bringing back the society to feudal mentality and is a step in the direction of implementing Islamic law and punishment in Malaysia, he said in a press statement.

We reiterate our objection to the proposal of public whipping or any Taliban-style punishments, Hew added.

Address root cause

Hew also urged the government to fully address the root causes of the problem by engaging experts like sociologists, psychologists, and women activists who have been dealing with victims of incest.

The government must realise now that to build a progressive and healthy society, a more balanced approach for development must be taken. Disparity in our socio-economic development is to be blamed for the emerging of these social ills, said Hew, pointing out that incest most often occur among poorly-educated people in lower income groups.

Meanwhile, the Students Union of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PMUKM) said the government should amend existing laws to impose heavier sentences on incest crimes as compared with rape crimes due to the more heinous nature of the former.

The student body also proposed that the government take more stringent measures to check the sale of pornographic material and publications and the airing of television programmes which promote unhealthy values.

It said statistics showed that some 71.2 percent of incest victims in the last four years were Malay Malaysians and was an indication of the extent in moral degeneration among the community.

The authorities should be stricter in removing influences contributing to these ills and give more attention towards imbuing good moral values and religious teaching, it said in a press statement.

Proposal lauded

A Muslim non-governmental organisation, Teras Pengupayaan Melayu, however lauded the proposal to implement public whipping as it conforms to requirements under Islamic hudud law.

This is not something odd in Malaysian society but is a reimposition of a law that was left off for hundreds of years after being practised by the Melaka Sultanate, said Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid, president of the NGO that promotes activism.