Few will understand the meaning of 'minority' better than Chinese Muslims in Malaysia.

They number only between 55,000 and 60,000 and live in a peculiar situation. On one hand, though being Chinese, they are seen different from the others because of their religious affiliation. On the other hand, they are considered distinctive within the predominantly Malay Muslim community because of their ethnic origin.

The ancestry of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia could be traced back to the Hui in China, an ethnic group which had embraced Islam as its religion centuries ago, when a group of them migrated and settled down in Terengganu at the turn of the last century.

Due to a small and inter-related population, many of them began to practise inter-racial marriage with the local Malays in order to avoid in-breeding.

Today, there is a slow, but steady stream of Chinese who convert into Islam every year as the inter-racial marriage continues.

Yet, Chinese Muslims remain as a minority group who have little voice in many issues, even those concerning them such as the recent debate on whether hudud law is suitable for the country.

The controversy started with the PAS-led Terengganu government passing the Syariah Criminal Offences Bill in the state in June. It was met with strong criticism from the federal government and various non-governmental organisations who argued that such laws contravene the Federal Constitution.

It is often presumed that the entire Chinese Malaysian community is dead set against the laws too. However, the Malaysian Chinese Muslims Association (Macma) begs to differ and says there are different opinions on the matter, even among its leaders and members.

Practical perspective

Macma vice-president Marlena Wong says the public should discuss the laws from a practical perspective and not mix their arguments with religious and racial emotions.

"Before punishment, there are legal procedures such as investigation, recommendation and judgement which have to be exhausted first," she says.

For instance, chopping the hand of a thief is far more complicated than it sounds. "The reason why someone steals must be examined. If the person steals to save someone else's life, the court will have a different judgment for that offence," she explains.

On claims that punishment under hudud law such as death by stoning, amputation of limbs, and severe whipping are cruel, Wong says stricter laws are increasingly necessary to govern society as social problems nowadays have become more serious.

"If you do not have the intention to commit an offence, why should you be scared about it [punishment]?" she asks.

She also defends the concept of zina as a crime by saying that the public only has "a gross picture" about it.

"The four witnesses who are required in the zina cases are not necessarily those who saw the incident, but it could be the persons who know the victims very well," she explained.

Zina or rape under the hudud law has been widely criticised by women's groups as being discriminatory against women. The law stipulates that the victim must present four Muslim male witnesses in order to enable a court to consider conviction.

If a victim fails to prove her allegations and is found to have made slanderous accusations, she can be punished by lashing or death by stoning. This particular provision was deleted from the Hudud and Qisas Bill by the Terengganu government recently.

Widespread prejudice

Wong says PAS had not been successful in explaining the hudud law to non-Muslims because of widespread prejudice against the Muslim opposition party and biased coverage about the party in the government-controlled media.

But she remains optimistic that the misunderstanding about the laws will be reduced in time.

"When the issue draws public interest, people will start to ask question and this is a way to find out the truth," she says.

Macma deputy president Dr Muhamad Fuad Yeoh Abdullah echoed her statement by voicing out support for the hudud law.

He says even non-Muslims will appreciate the hudud law once they realise that it is the best safeguard and deterrent against serious crimes.

"People may ask what is the need to chop off the hand of someone who stole only RM100 but do they realise that the victim of theft and robbery may be threatened with knife and other forms of violence?" he asks.

He said the question of fairness in the implementation of hudud law on non-Muslims is not an issue at all if that is in line with the wishes of the majority because Malaysians have the rights to choose their government.

Wong and Muhamad Fuad's position is not to be taken as that of Macma though.

Unfair and incorrect

Their colleague, Rosey Ma, a Chinese Muslim scholar who is now working as a counsellor for the organisation, thinks the hudud law is discriminatory against women and unsuitable for a multi-racial society. .

"It is unfair and incorrect to impose full Syariah laws in a non-Islamic society," said the Turkey-born Chinese Muslim who is now living in Malaysia with her three children.

An Islamic society does not necessarily comprise only Muslims but the foundation and governing structure must reflect the religious teachings, such as Madinah which consisted of Muslims, Jews, and Christians, she clarifies.

"The basis of an Islamic society is not 'one race, one religion', but rather an agreement to use an Islamic thinking to govern the country," she says.

She says the hudud law is not applicable in the Malaysian context because the country is not a Islamic society structurally. "The current society structure is based on secular and civil laws and this should be preserved," she argues.

She says it is possible that once the hudud law is being implemented, the legislation may extend to cover non-Muslims as well.

Certain Muslim groups share Ma's concern and feel that this is the reason why a theocratic state should be rejected in a multi-racial, multi-religious Malaysia. They cite the concept of la ikraha fiddeen , which means no force and compulsion in religion.

The debate on the feasibility of implementing hudud law in Malaysia is bound to gain more momentum. Thus, as long as there are different schools of thought on the subject, one can hardly expect any conclusive result.