In what is being viewed as the latest step towards ultra-conservatism, the Sultan of Brunei has announced the phased introduction of tough Islamic punishments.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, whose family have ruled the former British protectorate for six centuries, said in a speech on Tuesday (October 22) that a new Sharia penal code which has been in the works for years had been gazetted and would “come into force six months hereafter and in phases”. Punishments can include stoning to death for adulterers, severing of limbs for theft and flogging for violations ranging from abortion to consumption of alcohol, according to a copy of the code.
“By the grace of Allah, with the coming into effect of this legislation, our duty to Allah is therefore being fulfilled,” said the 67-year-old sultan, who first called for Sharia criminal punishments to be introduced as far back as 1996. He had remained relatively quiet on the subject since that time but has leaned increasingly towards Islamic orthodoxy in recent years, including the introduction of mandatory religious education for all Muslim children and ordering all businesses in the country closed for two hours during Friday prayers.
Brunei already has a dual-track system combining civil courts based on British law – the sultanate remained a British protectorate for 95 years ending in 1984 – and Sharia courts that are currently limited to personal and family issues such as marriage disputes. It has not been made clear how aggressively the new criminal code, which applies only to the 70 per cent of the nation’s 400,000 population who are Muslims, would be implemented.
