Terengganu under PAS sees lesbians punished, oil royalty claim

KUALA TERENGGANU: The whipping punishment imposed on a lesbian couple in Terengganu drew various reactions, not only from the government and nongovernmental organisations, but also legal practitioners and the public.

The irony was that, many did not realise that the punishment meted out by the Terengganu Syariah Court was not the first, as it had been carried out in other states, including Sabah.

The decision by the judge for the punishment under the Syariah Criminal Procedures (Terengganu) Enactment 2001 to be carried out in court and witnessed by family members, media representatives and the public served as an eyeopener to many.

Syariah caning is not similar to civil whipping, in that it is not meant to hurt and the cane should not be swung from a level above the head. Besides the lesbian couple, two other women were also sentenced to whipping for prostituting themselves, but the punishment was conducted in prison, not at the court.

Besides the execution of the caning sentence on the two lesbians, the 14th general election ( GE14) also saw Terengganu, as well as Kelantan and Pahang becoming opposition states, with the two east coast states under PAS and Pahang, under Barisan Nasional (BN).

BN, which had been in power in Terengganu since 2004, finally fell to PAS in the last general election on May 9. PAS won 22 state seats, while BN only 10 .

Most shocking was the result for the Kemaman parliamentary seat, with the defeat of the three-term incumbent, former Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Shabery Cheek, despite winning with a huge majorities during previous elections.

Despite the various shocking events that happened, Terengganu emerged as the first state to have a smooth power transition.

Though an opposition state, Terengganu opted for calm and cordial relations with the federal government, what more on the oil royalty claim, which is much needed to ensure the well-being of the state and its people.

Failing to get the oil royalty will mean the state, facing a deficit of RM1.7 billion, will continue to lag behind.

Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has also taken a bold move by entering monies from oil and gas royalty of RM1.745 billion as Non-Revenue Receipts when tabling the 2019 State Budget, despite no official decision on the matter.

Terengganu has been waiting for the oil royalty payment since Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad issued a statement saying that the Pakatan Harapan ( PH) government is committed to fulfil the promises made in its GE14 manifesto, including on the 20 per cent royalty to oil producing states in the country.

However, the royalty payment will be given on the condition that it is used for the good of the state and not to be spent on strengthening the party and others.

In a related development, at the recent State Assembly sitting, the state government expressed hope of getting the oil and gas royalty payment of between RM400 million and RM500 million from Petronas before end of the year.

Ahmad Samsuri said so far, the state government had received RM300 million, which was made in two payments, the first in August and another in early October.

The good relations between PAS and Umno can also be seen in Terengganu , when both parties concurred on the issue of oil royalty with the setting up of a special committee.

Until now, there has been no conflict or controversy in the state’s administration, except the alleged conflict between PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Ahmad Samsuri on the distribution of the oil royalty payment. However, Abdul Hadi denied it, saying that the conflict between him and Ahmad Samsuri, who was his former political secretary, was purposely made up. Abdul Hadi described his relations with Ahmad Samsuri as good and there was no issue of toppling the menteri besar. — Bernama