Category Archives: Victimless Crimes

There may therefore be a need to broaden the tax base and take a hard look at parts of the economy where the government is not getting its proper due.

Dealing with the trade in illegal cigarettes, for example, would be an easy place to start. It has cost the fiscus an estimated R4bn to R5bn in lost revenue each year, and about R24bn in the past five years.

Costing on average about R12 per pack and in some cases as little as R7 (compared to about R35 for the most popular brand on the market), it should be no surprise that the illegal trade is flourishing and accounts for a staggering 24% of the South African market. Growth in illicit trade can only serve to erode the tax base.

So, why does this matter? Some would argue that the legitimate tobacco sectors loss to illicit traders is no big deal. The production and sale of illegal cigarettes, however, is not a victimless crime. Not only does the government lose out on substantial revenues that could be used to deliver vital public services, but the proceeds from the sale of illegal cigarettes are often used to fund drug smuggling, human trafficking and other crimes that blight communities.

Some smugglers even have links to terrorism. Combined, this "double whammy" of tax losses and increased crime (which requires yet more expenditure on police to tackle it) is having serious consequences in SA.

In theory, correcting this should be relatively easy. Tobacco products are manufactured or imported in a limited range of brands and excise is levied at a specific rate per thousand cigarettes (R662), due for collection at the point of manufacture or import into the country.

An embossed diamond marking on the bottom of the pack is intended to provide a physical indication that tax has been paid.

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Stubbing out illegal cigarettes will help plug SA's budget deficit - Business Day (registration)

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Scene from a travel ban protest at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Melissa Fossum

This morning, the Department of Homeland Security announced its new plans to enforce President Donald Trumps executive orders on immigration.

Among the changes: tripling the number of agents who work in ICEs Enforcement and Removal division, and deporting immigrants before their cases have been heard in immigration court.

In addition, anyone whos been charged with a crime or has committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense is now considered a priority for deportation.

That includes people like Guadalupe Garcia who are guilty of nonviolent (and typically victimless) crimes like driving without a license or applying for a job with a fake social security number.

Thats just bad policy, David Leopold, the former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, argues.

The immigration enforcement priorities are what keep us safe, he explained in a question-and-answer session for Americas Voice, a group that advocates for immigration reform.

If theyre spending resources on getting the bad people, then were safer. Theyre spending resources on the people who are easier to find the law-abiding folks. Whos easier to find: a woman whos tired after a day washing dishes, or a hardened criminal?

The priority of the Trump administration is to instill fear and panic, he added.

We'll be updating this post throughout the day as Arizonans react to the new executive orders. In the meantime, here's a sampling of the initial response on Twitter.

Update 12:11 p.m.: Activists fromLUCHA, Living United For Change in Arizona, will be at the State Capitol today at 4:30 p.m. to provide an update about what the new policies will mean and inform community members of their legal rights. More information here.

Update 1:31 p.m.: The Arizona Democratic Party is asking anyone who disagrees with Trump's new deportation plan to sign a petitionvoicing their opposition.

Update 2:06 p.m.: James Garcia, communications director for the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, says that the new immigration policies will have a tangible real world effect in Arizona.

Theres an estimated 350,000 undocumented immigrants living in the state, all of whom contribute to the local economy in various different ways.

Thats a substantial number of people thats a city, he says. Those are people who spend money, fuel this economy, do jobs that most people dont want to do.

And many of those people have family members who are legal United States citizens, meaning theres likely to be a ripple effect.

When undocumented people leave, they dont just leave by themselves, Garcia points out. They leave with children, they leave with spouses. When they leave, they take all of their economic impact with them. These are people who were pumping money into the tax system.

Roughly a fourth to a third of the small businesses in Arizona are owned by Hispanic immigrants including some who are undocumented or have DACA. Theyre likely to be hit hard by the new policies.

Anecdotally, Garcia heard that some businesses have already seen their customer base drop because undocumented immigrants are scared to be out and on the streets.

People are limiting their movements, theyre changing their patterns in life to avoid getting into a situation if they can, he says.

Arizona has been through this before thanks to S.B. 1070, Garcia points out.

When you go out and talk to major construction firms, you here that it is a lot of harder to find enough workers, he says. Theyre still feeling the consequences of S.B. 1070.

Update 3:40 p.m.: Rep. Ruben Gallego has issued the following statement condemning the new policies:

These new guidelines tell us one thing: the Trump administration is willing to go after just about any member of the immigrant community. Last week, ICE arrested a DACA recipient and continues to hold him in custody without showing sufficient cause for his detention. Now the administration releases guidelines that lay the groundwork for mass deportation and tries to sell it to the American people as business-as-usual. This is far from the truth.

Under these new rules, ICE can go after people who have not been found guilty of committing a crime and remove them from the country within days of their arrest. It also strips anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident of many due process protections. These are not the values our country was founded on.

I am dedicated to holding the Trump administration accountable and will continue to call out these policies for what they are: un-American.

Update 4:39 p.m.: Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, has released the following statement:

These directives lay out a blueprint for mass deportation. They bring to life some of the worst of Donald Trumps campaign rhetoric and threaten to tear apart families and leave U.S. citizens without parents, children, husbands and wives. Its not who we are as a country to rule by fear, confusion and cruelty.

The ACLU is also concerned about the Trump administrations prioritization of immigrant detention. Asylum seekers, families and others who pose no risk to the public do not belong in jails, lining the pockets of for-profit prison corporations.

Furthermore, rushing to incorporate a massive number of new federal agents into an undertrained and inexperienced deportation force, which may be cooperating with state and local police, is a perfect formula for large-scale racial profiling and other constitutional violations, including unlawful searches and detentions.

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What People Are Saying About Homeland Security's Plan to Crack Down on Immigrants - Phoenix New Times

FEBRUARY 19 This article was written from Kelantan, a few nights before the Himpunan 355 rally in support of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awangs private members Bill for harsher punishments by Shariah courts.

If party propaganda is to be believed, the rally is a much-anticipated major event, with several billboards advertising it erected across Kota Baru, calling Kelantan citizens to head down to the capital.

In fact, Sunday (today) has even been declared a holiday by the PAS state government so Kelantan folks can attend the rally supporting the party. This is in an action that comes close to either gross abuse of power, or just sheer narcissism.

But talk to the Kelantan grassroots and you find that some are not even aware what RUU355 means; the Malay acronym used for the Bill, named after Act 355 which it aims to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

For some who claim to understand, know it by one point only: hudud, the controversial Islamic penal code that has become the elusive holy grail of the Islamist party.

There has been no proper survey done on the Bill, but it is easy to imagine that knowledge and insight about what the Bill and the Act do is insufficient among Malaysians, even the Malay-Muslims. And part of this has been a result of its proponents deliberately out to obfuscate the public, in order to justify and garner support for the Bill to be passed.

Supporters of the Bill had mainly relied on strawmen arguments that are purposely neither right nor wrong, so critics found themselves tangled while trying to dismantle their arguments, instead of targeting the real issue:

1. Only the ignorant opposes RUU355

This argument is actually a mere insult directed at critics, by claiming that they do not understand the Bill put forward by Hadi, rather than a statement of fact.

By comparison, ignorance is rife on both sides. But activists who staunchly oppose RUU355 are arguably more informed about the Bill. There have been lawyers, journalists and civil liberties activists who have pored over the Bill ever since it was first tabled until it was finally amended on Umnos advice.

Staunch critics know exactly what they are talking about. They can even point out how Hadis Bill has been poorly written and how it could have been better drafted instead.

2. Non-Muslims should not oppose RUU355 as it does not affect them

This argument is used to present a narrative that only non-Muslims are opposing RUU355. Of course, this is not true.

Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awangs private members Bill is actually not well understood by its supporters. File PictureIn the lead-up to this week, we have seen many open letters and statements from those with Muslim backgrounds opposing the Bill, including G25 members Azimah Rahim and Mohd Sheriff Kassim. So are the activists who managed to temporarily block Hadis Bill from being tabled through the court.

It is true that by principle, Shariah laws, and RUU355 that bestows the power to Shariah courts, do not have jurisdiction over non-Muslims. But we all know in reality this sadly does not work this way.

In just the past year we have seen how Islamic laws have indirectly and directly impacted the lives of non-Muslims. Islamic regulations had affected non-religious businesses like the Ninja Joe pork burger and McDonalds birthday cake fiascos.

Shariah laws also claim jurisdiction over a Muslim, even when he has renounced the religion, as he is viewed an apostate a Shariah offence that can be punishable by death in some states. Thankfully, this cannot yet be implemented.

But the truth is, there is no way that Shariah laws will not affect non-Muslims. Because we live in the same society, not in silos. What affects one part of the society would inevitably affect the other.

The only way Shariah laws will not indirectly affect non-Muslims is when the two demographics are segregated. The way things are going, this might happen in some degree if we do not resist.

3. RUU355 is not about hudud

In part, this is true. After all, the Act is not about implementing hudud. The word hudud is not even mentioned anywhere near the Bill.

But this was not true prior to 2016. Even in 2014, PAS and a bipartisan technical committee discussing how hudud can be implemented in Malaysia consistently argued that Act 355 is one of its stumbling blocks.

After all, the Shariah courts can only sentence offenders with fines, prison and lashes. It cannot deliver brutal hudud punishments such as stoning, crucifixion, amputation, and death; or the eye for an eye punishments under qisas until Act 355 is amended to allow them to do so.

It was only after Hadi was allowed to table the Bill, with endorsement from Umno ministers, that any mention of hudud magically disappeared. Suddenly, it was all about upgrading the Shariah courts.

Despite that, even Hadis Bill cannot allow all hudud punishments to be implemented. His previous Bill did not allow death sentences. The current Bill fixed by Umno still does not allow stoning and amputation.

But, it still allows some hudud punishments. Illicit sex among unmarried couples can be punished by 100 lashes if Hadis Bill goes through, up from for example the current maximum of three-year jail, RM5,000 fine or six strokes of the rotan under Section 11 of Kelantans Syariah Criminal Code 1985.

Drinking alcohol can be punished by 80 lashes, instead of the same set of maximum punishments, under Section 25.

But that is not the point: Hadis Bill, if passed, would increase the punishment cap to maximum 30 years imprisonment, RM100,000 fine and 100 lashes of the cane. And this can be applicable to a lot of Shariah offences that ultimately are victimless crimes, not to mention discriminatory.

Shariah offences in many states do not only penalise a person for being a transgender, eating during Ramadan, skipping Friday prayers, indecent acts, but also insulting Islam, teaching without credentials, and criticising and insulting the religious enforcers themselves.

Go through every offence in each state, and you will start questioning whether many are even fit for the 21st century.

To be continued in Part 2 next week.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Dispelling the RUU355 strawmen, Part 1 - Malay Mail Online

Latest crime statistics in Northern Ireland has prompted farmers to explain that rural businesses and the countryside remain soft targets for criminals. Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said the latest statistics for rural crime highlights that despite efforts to curb this, more needs to be done. The union says it will continue to press the Police to focus more resources to tackle this, while recognising that individual police officers do their best to engage with farmers, within the limits of the budgetary restraints forced on them. The UFU says those drawing up budgets must recognise that rural areas are exposed, and deserve as much protection as towns and cities in Northern Ireland. The latest statistics highlight a nine per cent increase in agricultural crime, with livestock theft an almost daily problem in some areas. Value of thefts 'rising' Figures from the NFU Mutual, the biggest farm insurer, also suggest the value of thefts is rising, as thieves target expensive machinery and livestock. The figures highlight our frustration, said the UFUs deputy president, Ivor Ferguson. We can see from them where the problem is worst Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry. In these areas we need the PSNI to respond to these statistics, he said. 'Simply unacceptable' The UFU says a major cause for concern is the split between theft in rural and urban areas. Despite much smaller populations and housing density, in many areas rural theft and burglary now account for a third and up to half the crime of this nature. That is simply unacceptable, said Mr Ferguson. He added that a further frustration for farmers was lenient sentences for criminals. The judiciary needs to realise that these are not victimless crimes but crimes that often leave people feeling vulnerable and isolated in rural areas, said the UFU deputy president.

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'Simply unacceptable': Northern Irish farmers remain soft targets for ... - FarmingUK

(File photo), an officer canes a woman who violated strict Syariah laws forbidding contact between unmarried men and women Banda Aceh. Pic: AP

HUNDREDS of thousands of protesters are expected to throng the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this afternoon in what could be the countrys largest call to strengthen the Syariah justice system, as the Muslim-majority nation reaches a major cross roads over its secular laws.

Amid a backdrop of rising Islamic sentiments and fractured race-relations, the countrys pious northeastern state of Kelantan is closer to realising its decades-long pursuit of enforcing strict Islamic Syariah laws for criminal offences, threatening to worsen religious ties in a polarized multiracial nation.

Next month, lawmakers will debate a controversial bill, known as Hadis Bill, to amend Act 355 of the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, proposing harsher punishments to replace current sentences that have long been implemented under the civil system.

Traditionally, Malaysias Syariah courts focused on family and marital affairs, and handed out minor fines amounting to several thousands of ringgit and relatively light prison sentences for moral offences, which are hardly enforced.

SEE ALSO:Islamisation of Malaysia: Hudud to rear head again next week

The religious courts are restricted to imposing punishments of up to three years jail; RM5,000 fine or whipping of no more than six strokes also referred to in the country as the 3-5-6 penalties for offences against Islam.

However, if passed, the bill is tipped to grant punitive powers to the Syariah courts and allow its judges to impose up to a hundred lashes, hundred thousand ringgit fines (US$21,000) and 30-year jail sentences on Muslims convicted of the same moral offences and other victimless crimes. Save for the death penalty, the amendments will be enshrined under state jurisdiction in the Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land.

Among others, examples of punishable crimes under the proposed amendments include pre-marital sex, alcohol consumption, failure to attend Friday prayers or fast during Ramadhan. If implemented, the new laws threatened to throw modern Malaysia back into a medieval plot-setting where punishments were carried out in public, in full view of an onlooking crowd, similar to what is done in the self-autonomous region of Aceh, Indonesia.

Spearheading the Islamic law reforms is the hard-line Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and its president Abdul Hadi Awang, an influential Islamist political movement headed by ulamas and religious clerics that fell out with the countrys opposition bloc over the disputed Hudud aspect of Islamic jurisprudence, which lies at the core of the issue.

Umno delegates gather in front a portrait of party president and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during the opening ceremony their annual general meeting. Pic: AP.

The United Malays National Organisation or Umno, the ruling party led by Prime Minister Najib Razak who is faced with a massive corruption scandal and declining favour among voters, is seen to be banking in on the reforms.

In its bid to shore up political support, Umno, which has ruled the country for more than half a century via the rural Malay voter bank, has shown keenness in backing the demands of the hardline Islamists as Najib mulls calling for snap polls as early as the second half of the year.

Showing their solidarity for PAS flagship cause, Umno top brass and grassroots members are expected to join the much-talked-about rally in Padang Merbok, a landmark field in the capital that could fit up to 50,000 people.

Nasrudin Hassan, a senior PAS politician and director of the Himpunan RU355 (Act 355 Rally), said at least 200,000 people, from different political backgrounds will attend the protest.

He said the mass rally, which will be one of the biggest rallies to ever be held in the country, has received approval from police and will see 21 speakers talk between 2pm and 11pm on Saturday. The organisers will deploy at least 2,500 volunteers to ensure order and security while the authorities corderned off the area to traffic.

Even though Padang Merbok can only handle between 40,000 to 50,000 people, the police and city hall officials will cooperate by holding roadblocks in the surrounding area to allow us to accommodate the crowd, he said, as quoted by Utusan Malaysia.

We are also encouraging the rally-goers to bring their own prayer mats and mineral water bottles. We also remind bus drivers to come early to avoid congestion.

Race-relations, biased implementation and economic impact While the proposed laws apply only to Muslims, critics argue that they could extend to others while a sizable number of law experts have labeled the bill unconstitutional and open to abuse.

Malaysias 30 million populace is Muslim-majority, but nearly 40 percent profess other faiths such as Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.

Past debates on the bill have also triggered much controversy and created major fissures on both political fronts.

It has led to divisions in the multiracial ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) pact with protests from Umnos non-Muslim allies for its support of the bill as well as in the opposition, whose parties split with PAS in 2015 over disagreements regarding hudud.

Malaysias Muslim conservatives, however, insist that such laws are mandatory, not just for religious adherents but for all of Malaysia.

Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the president of the Peoples Justice Party (PKR), said the opposition party was concerned with the motion due to its ambiguity on the matter regarding the scope of punishments.

Since the proposals involve criminal laws that conflict with Islamic laws, the proposed punishments have to be absolutely certain. Whatever amendments that deal with punishments must be precise in their meaning.

Any proposed amendments need to be absolutely aligned with Islamic laws. We also need to consider whether the amendments fit into the framework of the Federal Constitution, she said in the partys official stance on the matter.

She added PKRs position is predicated on the condition that any debate on the RUU355 motion and its amendments to existing laws is to acquire further explanation and guarantee from the Prime Minister, and to ensure that the amendments must comply and fulfill Islamic principles of justice and fairness, and do not contradict the text and the spirit of the Federal Constitution.

SEE ALSO:Why Malaysias non-Muslims shouldnt worry about the proposed hudud bill

In a Facebook posting, lawyer and activist, Nik Elin Nik Rashid, said the country would be treading on dangerous ground where the courts can mete out harsh punishments for trivial issues that normally concern women.

It can get more dangerous if fatwas issued are allowed to become laws. Because its an offence to not follow a fatwa, she said.

Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, a former Secretary-General of Malaysias Finance Ministry and adviser to the G25 group of prominent Malays, urged the prime minister not to support the bill, saying the proposed laws will carry deep ramifications for the economy.

If you support the bill, investors in and outside the country will see this as a political game (used) by you to evade your responsibilities and what is urgent to restore the countrys economy, he told the prime minister in a statement which was forwarded to the Asian Correspondent by a G25 member.

RUU355 will divide people and raise concerns over the future of this multi-ethnic state. When people are not sure about the future of Malaysia, our economy will lose its strength and the people will become victims due to a leadership that infuses politics and religion.

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Malaysia: Hundreds of thousands expected to join mass rally calling for greater Syariah laws - Asian Correspondent

07:21 Saturday 18 February 2017

The Ulster Farmers Union says the latest statistics for rural crime highlights that despite efforts to curb this, the countryside and farmers remain soft targets for criminals.

It says it will continue to press the PSNI to focus more resources to tackle this, while recognising that individual police officers do their best to engage with farmers, within the limits of the budgetary restraints forced on them. The UFU says those drawing up budgets must recognise that rural areas are exposed, and deserve as much protection as towns and cities in Northern Ireland.

The latest statistics from the PSNI Agricultural and Rural Crime in Northern Ireland: Quarterly Update to 31 December 2016 highlight a nine per cent increase in agricultural crime, with livestock theft an almost daily problem in some areas. Figures from the NFU Mutual, the biggest farm insurer, also suggest the value of thefts is rising, as thieves target expensive machinery and livestock.

The figures highlight our frustration, said the UFUs deputy president, Ivor Ferguson. We can see from them where the problem is worst Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry. In these areas we need the PSNI to respond to these statistics, he said. The UFU says a major cause for concern is the split between theft in rural and urban areas.

Despite much smaller populations and housing density, in many areas rural theft and burglary now account for a third and up to half the crime of this nature. That is simply unacceptable, said Mr Ferguson.

He added that a further frustration for farmers was that when those charged with rural crimes appear before the courts sentences fail to reflect the impact of their crimes.

The judiciary needs to realise that these are not victimless crimes but crimes that often leave people feeling vulnerable and isolated in rural areas, said the UFU deputy president.

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Rural crime figures are a concern - Farming Life

Concerns have been expressed that rural homeowners, including farmers, remain soft targets for criminals across Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Farmers Union has pointed to the latest statistics from the PSNI regarding rural crime as highlighting existing frustrations.

Amid a 9% increase in agricultural crime, the union says livestock theft is an almost daily problem in some areas.

It also points to figures from the farm insurer NFU Mutual as suggesting the value of thefts is rising, as expensive machinery and livestock are targeted.

The figures highlight our frustration, UFU deputy president Ivor Ferguson said.

We can see from them where the problem is worst Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry.

In these areas, we need the PSNI to respond to these statistics.

The judiciary needs to realise that these are not victimless crimes but crimes that often leave people feeling vulnerable and isolated in rural areas.

UFU deputy president Ivor Ferguson

Mr Ferguson added that, when it comes to theft and burglary, such crimes in rural areas now account for at least a third of the number of incidents despite having smaller populations and housing density than urban areas.

That is simply unacceptable, he said.

The union further noted added the frustration for farmers when those charged with rural crimes appear before the courts only for sentences to fail to reflect the impact of their crimes.

The Ulster Farmers Union says it will continue to press the PSNI to focus more resources on tackling rural crime, while recognising that individual police officers do their best to engage with farmers within the limits of the budgetary restraints forced on them.

The UFU says those drawing up budgets must recognise that rural areas are exposed, and deserve as much protection as towns and cities in Northern Ireland.

Last updated Thu 16 Feb 2017

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Call to tackle rural crime as farmers 'soft targets' | UTV - ITV News - ITV News

APPLETON, Wis. -

Along the I-41 corridor, from Milwaukee to Green Bay, young, vulnerable teenagers have been lured into the dangerous and hidden world of sex trafficking.

Human trafficking is happening in every county in the state, according to law enforcement and advocacy groups, but Milwaukee, Appleton and Green Bay are some "hot spots" for sex trafficking in the state.

There are many misconceptions about sex trafficking, particularly that prostitution is a victimless crime. However, Appleton Police Lieutenant Steve Elliott knows that is far from the case.

After seven years leading the street crimes unit for Appleton Police, he saw that many women were not prostitutes, but victims.

"We realized that there was heavy coercion and manipulation going on in many different ways," said Lt. Elliott.

In all his years fighting the problem in the Fox Valley, one story stays with him. A victim started dating a man, and he ended up moving in with her and her child.

"One day, the victim came home to her quote unquote boyfriend, and the child wasn't there," Lt. Elliott said. "At that point that switch flicked, that personality changed, and the trafficker, that was now known to this woman, basically said if you want to see your little one again, you're going to go have sex for money."

"Anyone who is a parent would understand, or anyone who has a little one that they love, how horrible that would be if you didn't know where they were."

One misconception is that traffickers are abducting their victims, according to Lt. Elliott. What they actually do is manipulate victims through a process called grooming, he said.

"The flattery and gifts, the older boyfriend, promise of adventure and travel," he said. "They isolate these girls."

The traffickers make young victims think they're dating, preying on their vulnerabilities.

"It's not what you see in the movies, it's not that van that drives up and picks up that girl," said Dawn Quait, part of the leadership team for the organization 5 Stones.

5 Stones is a volunteer organization that works with Lieutenant Elliott and other Fox Valley groups to educate people on the problem and help victims.

"It's very hidden," Quait said.

80% of human trafficking in Wisconsin is sex trafficking, according to 5 Stones.

The biggest problem is getting victims help that actually works, Quait said.

"Because it can take 7-10 years of just basic services to get a victim to a survivor," she explained.

There's also still a misconception that trafficking doesn't happen here in Northeast Wisconsin, but advocates say the I-41 corridor makes it easy for traffickers to bring victims from Milwaukee.

"You need men, because that's usually the people who are buying the sex, you need hotels or motels, you need computers, and highways," said Lt. Elliott. "That's all you need."

That's why law enforcement and advocacy groups have come together in an Outagamie County Steering Committee to fight the problem.

"You can't arrest your way out of this problem, it's absolutely impossible," said Lt. Elliott.

Lt. Elliott also sits on the state anti-human trafficking task force. In the second part of our investigation into the human trafficking problem on Friday, NBC26will look more into that task force, what it's accomplished so far, and what it's goals are for the future to battle this issue.

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Law enforcement, advocacy groups work to stop sex trafficking in the Fox Valley - WGBA-TV

FEBRUARY 17 Dear YB,

You probably have a million things going on, dealing with constituents who have seemingly endless problems, party politics and figuring out how to retain your seat in the next general election.

The last thing you want is a hot potato like PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awangs private members Bill to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, or Act 355, landing in your lap.

But it will likely be tabled in Parliament next month and youll be forced to deal with it. How shall you vote then?

If youre a Muslim, you may feel obliged to vote Yes, even if you privately think that its not really necessary to increase the scope of Shariah punishments. After all, no one has shown any statistics on the trend of Shariah offences over the past several years, nor has Hadi proven how harsher punishments can deter religious offences.

If youre not a Muslim, you may be hesitant to vote No because your allies from another party support the Bill. So you prefer to skip Parliament on the day of the vote and abstain from voting. That way, no one can attack you for supporting or rejecting the Bill.

Who cares if your absence increases the likelihood of the passage of the Bill? At least your skin is safe.

Voting Yes or staying silent, however, is a betrayal of the peoples trust in you as their representative.

Thousands of Malaysians across race and religion voted you in because they believed that you were the best candidate to represent their interests and to push for better policies and governance.

Your personal faith should have nothing to do with your decision on how to vote on Hadis Bill because you are not casting a vote as an individual; you are voting as a representative of the people in your constituency.

Even if your constituency is majority Malay-Muslim, it does not mean that your constituents are a homogenous lot who think alike and support Hadis Bill. Some Malay-Muslims do not support the Bill, but theyre silent because they fear stigma in the community and disapproval from their own families.

Your job is to ensure that Malaysian democracy does not end up as a tyranny of the majority.

I urge you not to be swept up in the wave of populism and religious fanaticism, but to stand your ground in doing the right thing.

Hadis supporters try to scare Malaysians into backing the Bill by using religion and claiming that going against it is tantamount to going against God.

They also use fallacious arguments to demonstrate support for the Bill, claiming that the majority of Malaysians agree with them. But they fail to place the issue in a wider context, where Malaysians are likely to be far more concerned with things like the rising cost of living, education and crime, rather than whether a Muslim is drinking beer or riding a motorcycle with someone of the opposite sex.

Hadis Bill is an unjust law.

What religious offence can possibly merit a 30-year jail sentence, 100 lashes of the rotan or an RM100,000 fine, as Hadis Bill proposes? How can a victimless crime be equivalent to culpable homicide not amounting to murder that is also punishable with 30 years imprisonment?

Moral and religious offences cannot be treated like actual crimes that harm other people. If anything, we should be fighting to abolish jail terms for Shariah offences, instead of enhancing the punishments.

This isnt a Muslim issue because we do not live in silos. Non-Muslims and Muslims live and work together to develop this nation.

Putting people behind bars just for violating religious tenets means productive workers are taken off the workforce for several years. If they are injured from dozens of whippings, it places an extra burden on the public healthcare system.

More importantly, the public funds used to pay the salaries of religious officers, to feed the prisoners jailed for Shariah offences, to conduct whippings, come from both non-Muslim and Muslim taxpayers. Every ringgit that goes into enforcing Shariah legislation means money not spent on education, security or healthcare.

As a taxpayer, I have the right to talk about how I want my tax monies spent. And as a Member of Parliament, you should reject the allocation of resources for things that dont benefit the country, like moral policing.

The poor and the working class, who are too busy trying to make a living, should be educated instead of being locked away for decades just for not practising their faith properly.

Will you be the one to give welfare aid to poor people when they go bankrupt after getting an RM100,000 fine, or when their spouse is jailed for years for some Shariah offence? Or will you shrug your shoulders and say the government (which means us, the taxpayers) will take care of it?

If you vote Yes or abstain from voting on Hadis Bill, you will be responsible for the resulting divisions and disunity in our country.

You will be responsible for the victimisation of the poor who do not know better.

You will be responsible for the expanding Islamisation of the country that affects non-Muslims, where our businesses areraidedfor violating over-reaching halal-related rules and were told that theway we dressis unacceptable in even places like hospitals.

And you will be responsible for the ultimate destruction of our way of life in a society when we used to embrace our diversity and saw good in each other.

So, I urge you to put aside your short-term interests and for once, do not behave like typical Malaysian politicians, but act as a peoples representative who speaks on our behalf.

Otherwise, be prepared to lose your seat in the next election.

Malaysians need representatives who dare to act in our interests, not cowardly politicians who sacrifice their principles for political expediency.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Open letter to MPs on Hadi's Bill - Malay Mail Online

Hadis Bill opens doors for disproportionate punishments, constitutional expert says

Professor Datuk Shad Saleem Faruqi speaks at the forum 'Sejauh mana anda memahami hudud' at the PAUM Club House in Kuala Lumpur February 12, 2017. Picture by Boo Su-LynKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 A private members Bill to enhance Shariah punishments will enable excessive sentences for religious offences that mostly victimless and non-violent, Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi said today.

The constitutional expert said the Bill by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will also allow penalties for Shariah offences that are harsher than even punishments for heavier crimes in the civil system.

Punishment must be proportionate to the offence committed, the University of Malayas emeritus professor of law said in a forum on understanding the Islamic penal code of hudud organised by Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Youre going to have penalties of 100 lashes, RM100,000 fine, or 30 years jail for offences that are in some cases are purely victimless crimes. Some of Shariah crimes are victimless crimes a person drinks, doesnt pray, doesnt fast there is no clear harm to public order and national security.

In Criminal Procedure Code, Penal Code, the offences are much lesser for much bigger offences, Shad said.

According to Shad, the First Class Magistrate courts should be the benchmark for the punitive powers that Shariah courts may have. Currently, the Shariah courts powers are equivalent to the Second Class Magistrate courts.

Shad also said that the Shariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 also known as Act 355, which Hadis Bill aims to amend, is itself unconstitutional as it provides for penalties, but not the broad categories of offences that fall under the Shariah courts jurisdiction.

The law expert said the Act gives a blank cheque to state courts to enact punishments for any crime seen as against the precepts of Islam, adding that this has since been abused by state authorities.

If they really want to follow the Constitution, first step should be that all Shariah enactments must either be repealed, amended, or made in line with the Constitution. Only then can the punishment powers of Shariah courts be enhanced, he said.

Shad said Shariah laws are currently inconsistent and differ from state to state, and that there should be effort to unify these, which he noted is missing from Hadis Bill.

He also pointed out that, in Islam, there is a distinction between sin and crime, and not every sin must be criminalised as it is being done by the Shariah enactments in the country.

Other panelists in the forum today included Universiti Sains Malaysia political science professor Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid and Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.

The latest version of Hadis Bill aims to increase the punishments that Shariah courts can mete out from three years jail, six strokes of the cane and an RM5,000 fine to 30 years imprisonment, 100 strokes, and an RM100,000 fine.

Islamist party PAS is organising a rally in support of the Bill for Saturday, February 18 at Padang Merbok in the countrys capital.

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Hadi's Bill opens doors for disproportionate punishments, constitutional expert says - Malay Mail Online