The Malaysian Insight

MUSLIMS are still caned in Saudi Arabia and parts of Indonesia despite the fact that these countries have signed a global treaty against torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment, said human rights commissioners.

These two are examples of why Malaysia should not fear that its shariah system will be threatened if Putrajaya ratifies the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT), said commissioners from Malaysia and Indonesia.

The prospect of the country’s shariah being a stumbling block to UNCAT was voiced by Deputy Minister Hanipa Maidin. This is since caning under shariah could be construed as “cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment”.  

But even if Malaysia becomes a signatory to the convention, the country is still be able to have exemptions as in the case of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, for their local shariah laws.

Out of 57 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), 51 are state parties to UNCAT, said Abdelwahab Hani of the UN committee against torture.

These countries still retain their shariah systems. Sudan and Brunei are signatories, while Oman, Surinam, Malaysia and Iran have not signed on, said Abdelwahab.

“Nothing in the convention says it is against shariah law, British law or French law. It is about respecting the inherent dignity of human beings which is a principle in Islam,” said Abdelwahab in his presentation at the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) public dialogue on UNCAT.  

UNCAT is the latest international human rights convention that Putrajaya is looking to ratify after it backtracked on two other treaties following a backlash from Malay-Muslim nationalists.

In the past year, Pakatan Harapan has had to retreat from ratifying two important global treaties – the UN convention to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination (ICERD) and the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The decisions were criticised by civil society as the ruling coalition had promised to ratify human rights conventions in its election manifesto.

If it ratifies UNCAT, Malaysia would be expected to among others, pass laws criminalising torture, prevent the use of torture by state authorities and investigate deaths in custody. The convention also calls for the end of corporal punishment.

But despite these obligations, it is entirely up to Malaysia – like other signatories of UNCAT – to decide the pace at which it wants to enact these changes, said Malaysian human rights commissioner Jerald Joseph.

“No country is 100% ready to be torture-free when they sign on. There are countries which have signed but who still have police torture,” said Jerald.

“But every four to five years, they submit a report showing some of the progress they have made. That’s it. We are still in charge of managing our law system. The UN is only a pointer, not an enforcer.

“The enforcer is our own government and us as Malaysians.”  

Indonesian National Human Rights Commission chairman Ahmad Taufan Damanik said Aceh province, in northern Sumatra, still canes Muslims according to its shariah system.

This is despite the fact that that Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, has signed on to UNCAT, Taufan told The Malaysian Insight.

“There is a difference between the central government of Indonesia and the provincial government of Aceh in terms of corporal punishment. We are constantly in discussions with it on how we can streamline national and provincial laws.

“Aceh is an example of an exemption under UNCAT due to its status as a special autonomous province.” – July 11, 2019.