Bar calls for public caning laws to be reviewed

Summary

• The Malaysian Bar has called on the federal and Terengganu governments to review laws allowing public caning, urging reforms to align with human rights, dignity, and the Federal Constitution.

• Bar president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab argues that public caning violates Article 5, exceeds syariah court jurisdiction, and fails to promote rehabilitation.

• Tomorrow, Mohd Affendi Awang will receive six public lashes for khalwat, marking Malaysia’s first such punishment under Syariah law.

The Malaysian Bar has urged the federal government and the Terengganu government to review and amend laws allowing public caning.

The call comes a day ahead of the corporal punishment being carried out at a mosque in Terengganu tomorrow.

Bar president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab said while the Malaysian Bar acknowledges the significance of upholding the laws that preserve public morality and societal harmony, its punishments must also uphold the rule of law, the Federal Constitution, and human rights.

“The Malaysian Bar urges the Terengganu state government and the federal government to reconsider public caning practices by reviewing and amending laws that permit such punishments to ensure they are proportionate, rehabilitative, and respectful of human dignity.

“Additionally, we call for the total abolishment of corporal punishment in Malaysia. The justice system must strive to balance morality, compassion, and the rule of law,” he said in a statement today.

‘Shaming instead of rehabilitating’

Ezri argued that public caning exacerbates the humiliation and anguish of those being punished, which reduces them to objects of public shame rather than encouraging rehabilitation or repentance.

This undermines the person’s dignity and thus could be seen as a violation of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution, he said.

He also argued that implementing public caning exceeds the restrictions set under the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355), which stipulates limits on the punishments that can be meted out by Syariah courts nationwide.

“While Act 355 allows for whipping, it does not envisage the punishment being carried out publicly,” Ezri noted.

Mohd Affendi Awang, 42, is set to be the first person to be publicly caned under Terengganu’s Syariah law tomorrow, for repeated offences of khalwat (close proximity). He was sentenced to six lashes in public.

The sentence is slated to be carried out after Friday prayers at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque.

Police said it would deploy about 40 officers and personnel to ensure the sentence would be carried out smoothly, including to prevent any recording.

Only 70 people will be allowed to witness the caning. Previously, Malaysiakini reported that 10 would be picked by the mosque committee, while 60 others would need permission from the court.

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Source: Court upholds khalwat offender's sentence, caning on Dec 27