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Brunei recently
made headlines globally over decisions against adultery and gay sex. The new
rules are facing criticism from media celebrities and human rights groups. I
have never been to Brunei, but I would like to have the opportunity to take a
closer look on what is being described as new strict sharia laws implemented in
this nation.
Brunei is a rich,
small country located on the island of Borneo, surrounded by Malaysia and the
South China Sea with a population of 438,081 based on the latest United Nations
estimates. Brunei has the second-highest human development index among
Southeast Asian nations after Singapore, and is classified as a "developed
country" according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).It is ranked fifth
in the world over gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity.
Brunei officially
introduced new laws which included death by stoning for adultery and gay sex.
The new penal code in the country came in a decision by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
and includes amputation of hands and feet of thieves, making Brunei the first
place in East or Southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national
level. Rape is also punishable by death under the code and many of the new
laws, such as capital punishment for insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), will
apply to non-Muslims as well as Muslims.
When this news
came to public attention, is sparked international condemnation. Naturally, the
law was upsetting for the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) community, although even before this law, sex between men was already
illegal in Brunei and punishable with up to 10 years in jail. But the new code
stipulates the death penalty by stoning as a punishment for sex between men,
while women convicted of having sexual relations with other women face up to 40
strokes of the cane or a maximum of 10 years in jail.
In fact, Brunei
is not the only country that has put such penalties into force, as there are
some other countries that have similar laws. There are currently 70 countries
that criminalize same-sex relations, according to the International Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). In many places, breaking
these laws is punishable by long prison sentences, fines or corporal
punishment. The laws stipulate that there must be four Muslim witnesses to
criminalize the act of anal sex or adultery to be prosecuted.
The United
Nations called in a statement the legislation as "cruel, inhuman and
degrading", and said it marked a "serious setback" for human
rights.I think this decision provoked the global media because Sultan Hassanal
heads the Brunei Investment Agency, which owns the Dorchester Collection, which
operates several top hotels including the Dorchester in London and the Beverly
Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.So it was no surprise that US actor George Clooney
and other Hollywood celebrities have called for a boycott of the luxury hotels.
Commonwealth
Secretary General Patricia Scotland has urged the government of Brunei to
reconsider the new punishments, which she says "will potentially bring
into effect cruel and inhuman punishments which contravene international human
rights law and standards".
Some have
wondered why this law is being implemented now. There are several theories -
one of these claims that there is an interest in attracting more investment
from the Muslim world, along with more Muslim tourists. So, this could be seen
as one way of appealing to this market. I personally don't see how this can be
true as there are many investments by Muslim nations in non-Muslim countries.
I believe that
time only will tell if these penalties will be carried out, because for
example, Nigeria has the punishment of stoning in its Muslim-majority northern
states, yet it has never been carried out. Brunei too has retained the death
penalty, but has not carried out an execution since 1957.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
