The implementation of hudud law should not be motivated by politics if it is to be successfully implemented.

 

Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad ( left ) said the party planning to implement hudud should examine the environment, including its racial harmony and not rush into it.       

Citing Pakistan and Nigeria as examples, he said friends directly involved in implementing hudud law over there told him that was not fully accepted.  

"Ibrahim Bukar, the Chief Justice of the High Court in Abuja, Nigeria told me the Syariah legal system was hastily introduced over ten years ago for political interests and needs.        

"The idea emerged in the states and was introduced without consultation and views of the federal government. Without the federal government, criminal justice cannot be administered effectively," he said when giving a lecture in intellectual discourse entitled "Implementation of Hudud in Brunei: What Malaysia Can Learn," in Kuala Lumpur today.

Abdul Hamid advised the party seeking to implement hudud law to conduct a comprehensive study and make thorough preparations.    

He said Brunei which announced plans to implement hudud law had conducted research for about 30 years. Moreover, the country gives absolute power to the sultan who has certain privileges to amend the law.              

Asked about the ban on the word 'Allah' to non-Muslims in Selangor, Abdul Hamid said Muslims in Malaysia should defend their rights in this matter.      

        

He questioned the pastor's intention to use 'Allah' to refer to their god as it was never used since the Roman Catholics entered Malacca about 500 years ago.    

"For me, there is only one intention. He wants to hoodwink Muslims by saying that you can still have faith in Allah by being in our church," he added.  

 

- Bernama