Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: The sultan of oil-rich Brunei announced that tough Islamic criminal punishments would be introduced Thursday, pushing ahead with plans that have sparked rare domestic criticism of the ruler and international condemnation.
“With faith and gratitude to Allah the almighty, I declare that tomorrow, Thursday May 1, 2014, will see the enforcement of Sharia law phase one, to be followed by the other phases,” the absolute monarch said in a royal decree Wednesday.
Plans for the Sharia penalties – which will eventually include flogging, severing of limbs and death by stoning – triggered condemnation on social media sites in the tiny sultanate earlier this year.
Confusion has swirled around implementation following the unexplained postponement of an expected April 22 start date that raised questions over whether the Muslim monarch was hesitating.
But 67-year-old Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – one of the world’s wealthiest men – forged ahead, dismissing “theories” that the penal code was unjust.
“Theory states that Allah’s law is cruel and unfair but Allah himself has said that his law is indeed fair,” the sultan, dressed in traditional Malay garb, said in delivering the decree at Brunei’s convention centre.
Bruneians enjoy among the highest standards of living in Asia due to the country’s energy wealth, with education, medicine and other social services heavily subsidised.
The sultan first proposed the Sharia penal code in 1990s, and in recent years has increasingly warned of rising crime and pernicious outside influences such as the Internet. He has called Islam a “firewall” against globalisation.
He announced the implementation plans in October.
Brunei is the first country in East or Southeast Asia to introduce a Sharia penal code on a national level, joining mostly Middle Eastern countries.
Muslim ethnic Malays, who make up about 70 per cent of the population, are broadly supportive of the move by their revered father-figure.
But some Malays and non-Muslim citizens privately express unease. About 15 per cent of Brunei’s people are non-Muslim ethnic Chinese.
Earlier this year, many users of Brunei’s active social media – the only avenue for public criticism of authorities – denounced the penal code as out of step with the gentle Bruneian national character.
The move could indicate the sultan is becoming more conservative as he ages, said Joseph Chinyong Liow, a Singapore-based professor of Muslim politics.
“The sultan himself is at a point where there is a need to come to terms with religious identity, both personally and for the country,” he said.
Liow said the sultan may have viewed Sharia as a popular step, as support grows among some Muslims in Southeast Asia for a post-colonial return to Islamic roots, especially in the face of Western influences.
The initial phase beginning Thursday introduces fines or jail terms for offences ranging from indecent behaviour, failure to attend Friday prayers, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
A second phase covering crimes such as theft and robbery is to start later this year, involving more stringent penalties such as severing of limbs and flogging.
The UN’s human rights office said this month it was “deeply concerned”, adding that women typically bear the brunt of punishment for crimes involving sex.