generalspeaking

Imposing Serene Order

"I think his majesty feels the need for Shariah law is more pressing now because of changes in our society. 
"Many Bruneians study abroad, especially in the U.K., and they experience things there and bring them back with them. We are seeing more cases of unmarried pregnant women, of adultery, drinking and drugs. Even the divorce rate is rising."
Diwa, Bruneian lawyer

 

Well, certainly that would never do. There must, of necessity, be a stop put to that kind of thing. Licentiousness, the casting aside of cultural, religious and social standards of moral behaviour. And so, one of the world's wealthiest men -- thanks to the avails of an oil-rich geology -- has stated that beginning in the spring of 2014, his population must accommodate themselves to strict observance of traditional Sharia law.

Like it or not. And it does challenge the imagination to think that anyone might think fondly of a penal code whose punishment for adultery is death by stoning. Rather a harsh public condemnation of illicit social behaviour. Let alone theft punishable legally by amputation by the sword. And drunkenness meriting 40 lashes with a rattan cane. Death, amputation and torment as a cure for malfeasance.

Presumably, such punishment will apply to the entire Bruneian population, not only the 70% of the country of 400,000 who are Muslim, but all others as well. Critics of the announcement by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah have called upon Britain, as a close ally of Brunei as a former protectorate, to indicate its displeasure over the situation.

The question is, might British Prime Minister David Cameron prefer to give it a pass? After all human rights abuses are common in Sri Lanka, yet this is where the Commonwealth summit will be taking place next month, and there has been no word of any intention on the part of Mr. Cameron to give it a pass, as Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has done, on the basis of upholding Commonwealth standards of respect for human rights.

So, while Mr. Cameron is being criticized for his intention to attend the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka, he is also being pressed for a condemnation of Brunei's draconian imposition of laws consider barbaric by the standards of Western democracy. "London has a very important role in trying to get the sultan to reconsider this drastic move to a criminal Shariah system", emphasized the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

However, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's word is law in the country. He is not only head of state and prime minister, but finance minister and defence minister of his oil-rich kingdom as well. He has little tolerance for opposition political parties or any kind of social or political dissent. As one of the world's wealthiest men he pays for a British Army garrison comprised of one thousand soldiers to aid him in defending his rule.

Which, it would seem, makes Britain rather complicit in the situation. British mercenary militias? Brunei can hardly be held as a den of iniquity, even without the imposition of Sharia. Alcohol and cigarettes are illegal. There are no nightclubs in the country, there are but a few cafes where people can loiter and make a visual nuisance of themselves.

There are, however, four cinemas where people can be entertained. Disney comes to mind.

Labels: Brunei, Human Relations, Human Rights, Islam, Sharia

posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, October 29, 2013