The first caning for alcohol was of a Malaysian model. And now, a year in jail and six strokes of the cane for a little samsu. What fun these Islamic court judges will have when they’re let loose in Europe. Sharia Alert: “Jail, caning for drinking,” by Elizabeth Looi for the Straits Times, September 16 (thanks to Block Ness):
KUALA LUMPUR – AN INDONESIAN Muslim man has become the first foreigner in Malaysia to be sentenced by a syariah court to be caned and jailed for drinking alcohol.
The sentence was handed down by the same Islamic court judge who caused a national furore recently after he sentenced a Malaysian Muslim woman to be caned when she was caught drinking.
In this case, Indonesian national Nazarudin Kamaruddin, 46, was ordered on Monday by the Pahang Syariah High Court to spend a year in jail and receive six strokes of the rotan.
The odd-job worker is a Malaysian permanent resident. He was caught drinking samsu, a locally distilled alcoholic beverage, on Aug 27.
The judge, Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohd Yunos, sparked a bitter debate in Malaysia after he sentenced Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, to be caned for drinking beer.
The New Straits Times newspaper on Tuesday quoted the judge as saying after sentencing Nazarudin: ‘The sentence meted out to him is not meant as punishment but to serve as a lesson.’…
But the Indonesian Embassy, when contacted, believes the case would not further anger Indonesians.
‘No, Indonesians will not be angry because we also have whipping punishment back home in the Aceh province for adultery, drinking alcohol and robbery,’ said head of chancery and consular affairs Suryana Sastradiredja.
He said that Malaysia’s syariah law applied to ‘locals’ – citizens and permanent residents – and not to tourists.
Then why is Nazarudin being caned?