THE Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) has expressed its support for the stand taken by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar that caning is considered an excessive punishment.
The human rights group also applauded news that the Government through the Legal Affairs Division and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is studying alternative punishments to replace the corporal punishment which is seen as excessive in its implementation.
“SUHAKAM has taken various steps to advocate for the elimination of corporal punishment and all other excessive forms of punishment and has recommended the Government to prohibit corporal punishment by abolishing all domestic laws warranting the imposition of corporal punishment such as whipping and caning, which are all inconsistent with international human rights principles,” SUHAKAM chairperson Prof Datuk Dr Rahmat Mohamad remarked.
The group urged the Government to ensure the prohibition of torture and to expeditiously institute measures nationwide, including a comprehensive Plan of Action for Torture Prevention to be developed.
This is taking into account three interrelated elements including a legal framework that prohibits torture, effective implementation of the legal framework and mechanisms to monitor the legal framework and its implementation.
“SUHAKAM reiterates its strong commitment to the fight against torture and continued advocacy for the accession to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and its Optional Protocol, and the prohibition against torture as is enshrined in both Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and Article 3 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),” Rahmat added.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said yesterday (Aug 22) that lashing up to 15 times is considered excessive as it takes only three lashes to “destroy the flesh” of a person.
Calling whipping “brutal and inhumane”, Wan Junaidi expressed his intention to study the punishment holistically with certain parties.
He also noted that the issue of whipping was inherited from the colonial authority, and questioned why such practice should be retained.
“Why do people in Malaysia get flogged, when they don’t get whipped in England,” he said when met by the media after speaking at the Keluarga Malaysia Symposium: Achievements and Hopes yesterday. – Aug 23, 2022
