Brunei adopts sharia law
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — With a swing of his powerful arm, a prison guard landed a wicked-looking cane on the back of a dummy dressed in the white uniform of convicts in Brunei.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as you think,” he said.
The demonstration was taking place at the International Convention Centre in the capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, the venue for a three-day event designed to showcase the Sultan’s decision to adopt sharia for his country’s Mus l im population. Robes worn by judges were put on display and Islamic scholars gave speeches. Only weeks previously, the convention centre had hosted a regional summit with the John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, and President Xi Jinping of China.
Last week’s caning display brought home the harsh reality of a penal code which punishes adultery with death by stoning, theft with amputation by the sword, and drunkenness with 40 lashes from a rattan cane.
Starting next April, the Muslims who comprise 70 per cent of Brunei’s 400,000-strong population will risk all these punishments.
And despite the guard’s assertion, just three or four strokes of his cane will break the skin and leave most victims scarred for life.
The impending adoption of sharia has led to calls for Britain, Brunei’s closest ally, to reassess its relationship with a former protectorate, which won independence as recently as 1984.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was already facing criticism for agreeing to attend next month’s Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, where human rights abuses are common. The prime minister is now being pressed to condemn Brunei’s embrace of laws widely regarded as barbaric and draconian. “London has a very important role in trying to get the Sultan to reconsider this drastic move to a criminal sharia system,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is not used to having his decisions challenged. The 67 year-old is head of state and prime minister, as well as finance and defence minister. Ruling in near feudal fashion, the sultan does not tolerate dissent or opposition political parties.
Armed with the revenues of Brunei’s oil and gas reserves, the sultan is one of the world’s richest men and his fortune enables him to pay for a British Army garrison of about 1,000 soldiers which effectively guarantees his rule.
Sharia is already in use in divorce cases.