The recent “breaking news” about MUDA president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's conviction is sure to have sent shockwaves around the country; he was sentenced to seven years in jail and two strokes of the cane for abetting in a criminal breach of trust case involving RM1 million of the Bersatu Youth (Armada)'s funds and for misusing RM120,000 from Maybank Islamic Berhad account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise as well as for two counts of money laundering charges.
In addition to that, the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid had also imposed a fine of RM10 million in default four years jail against the Muda president; nevertheless, it had allowed Syed Saddiq's application for a stay of execution pending his appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Love him or hate him, the young, dynamic and gritty Muar member of parliament has had quite a colourful track record in spite of his tender age of 30, most notably his efforts in getting the "Undi 18" law to become a reality; but certainly, the thing that must have sent a chill down the spine of many was the “whipping” sentence meted out to him - two strokes of the cane, to be precise!
While we should not question the laws of the country or the verdict of the courts unless with basis and via proper channels, the question that must have inevitably crossed the minds' of many people is "why caning (whipping) for this young man?" Some may even have murmured in horror - "he didn't cause any physical harm on anyone, did he?"
Indeed, the verdict is believed to have triggered a hot debate among the public; no doubt, many might have been shocked as previous high-profile cases implicating politicians involving millions of ringgit did not seem to have "caning" as part of the sentence? Surely there are no double standards, right?
However, as was explained by a recent news report in CNA although it might have been seen by some as harsh, Syed Saddiq's sentence for corruption is apparently within Malaysia's legal provisions and may be intended to deter future offenders.
Indeed, in a letter published by Malaysiakini in 2020, law professor Ashgar Ali had shed some light on this form of corporal punishment; according to him, whipping for the commission of serious offences has been viewed by the human rights activist as "inhumane and cruel" to the extent that many countries have abolished whipping as a punishment from their statutes such as India and the United Kingdom.
But apparently, in Malaysia, whipping is contained in the penal statutes and was first introduced by the British in the 19th century. The sentence of whipping is inflicted for the commission of serious offences such as rape, incest, violence, theft, robbery, kidnapping, extortion, trafficking in firearms and drug trafficking; however, it is also inflicted for less serious offences such as illegal immigration, bribery and criminal breach of trust.
Furthermore, three categories of persons specified in Section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) cannot be sentenced to whipping, namely women, "men above the age of 50 except those convicted of rape and unnatural offences", and men sentenced to death. The exclusion is mainly because of the intrinsic gravity or severity of the punishment. (Read here for the full text)
Meanwhile, according to a report in BBC back in 2017, apparently caning is still being used as a punishment in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei; not surprisingly it is believed to be a legacy of British colonial rule in the 19th Century! (Just like the dreaded Internal Security Act which was supposedly meant to be used against communist insurgents?)
In fact, caning/whipping is considered so barbaric that Amnesty has said that it may be akin to “torture” but then again, it is a common punishment for transgressions in countries that observe Islamic laws such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Maldives.
Coming back to Syed Saddiq, last September the Muda president had abruptly announced his decision to vacate his seat from the government bench to become an Opposition MP - to be a third force; ironically, according to him, it was a sign of protest against Zahid Hamidi’s discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) verdict involving his corruption cases. Actually, in politics, being “whiter than white” may not be enough - one has to be "wiser than wise" too.
Whatever it is, most members of the public may have no qualms at all, if those convicted of despicable crimes involving rape and incest are caned; this is considering the great physical and psychological harm they would have inflicted on their helpless victims.
But, aren't there bound to be some doubts in the minds of ordinary people regarding the definition of “equal treatment under the law”; especially, over why - for those convicted of crimes such as bribery and criminal breach of trust - there is a "certain degree of leniency” accorded to them based on their age?
So, obviously then, this is why some older ones who have been found guilty of corruption here in this country have managed to “escape” this harsh physical punishment, although their case may be far more severe involving millions of ringgit - or maybe even billions!
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