Yong: Hudud law will lead to revamp of legal system

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee said the implementation of Hudud criminal law will inevitably lead to a complete revamp of the country's legal system.

"It was honourable of lawyer Hamid Ismail, who is now a Deputy Commissioner in Sabah PAS, to confirm our conversation at the January 2013 public forum on Hudud law that Hudud criminal law can be instituted in Malaysia by an amendment to the Penal Code which does not require a parliamentary 2/3 majority," said Yong.

"DAP was also invited but at the last moment had absented themselves. It is clear to that the Penal Code applies to everybody, both citizens and non-citizens of whatever religious faith.

To elaborate my point that criminal laws makes no distinction on race and religion, I had referred to Kelantan's laws forbidding gambling and consumption of alcoholic drinks which are applicable to all persons in Kelantan, and not only Muslims," Yong said in a statement today.

Yong said that in other some Arab countries, in Pakistan and, now possibly Brunei, it is reported that these laws are applicable to every person. "Therefore, Hamid should appreciate the worries of many people in Sabah who are fearful of the adoption of Hudud law. My mention of the cases of deceased Teo Chen Cheng, the Indonesian Christian charged for khalwat at Penang, the Selangor Hindu bride and the Bible Society cases is to remind us how things can go wrong. As I said, witnesses, law enforcers and even judges make mistakes".

In response to Hamid's clarification that at the 2013 forum he was only giving his personal legal opinion on Hudud law and not on behalf of PAS or Pakatan Rakyat, Yong said that a lawyer's legal opinion should not change simply because of one's political promotion (to Deputy Commissioner).

As reported correctly, I had emphasised that I was speaking on criminal justice system and the penal code that affects everybody in Malaysia; I reiterated I was not talking about religion, which in Malaysia is already highly charged.

The implementation of Hudud criminal law will lead inevitably to a complete revamp of our legal system to become fundamentally different from our existing civil and criminal legal system. Such fundamental change is completely different from the spirit and intent of the formation of Malaysia under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the recommendations of the United Nations Cobbold Commission and the Inter-Governmental Committee in 1962.

With the spectacular success of DAP in convincing many non-Muslims to vote PAS, the PAS has been emboldened to push its agenda into the national mainstream by moving a parliamentary motion on hudud. This is the current reality.

DE