00:00Two Sarawakian activists have rejected a top PAS leader's call for all states to emulate
00:06Terengganu and implement public caning for certain sharia offenses.
00:12Saya Anak Sarawak founder Peter John Jaban criticized public caning as a barbaric relic
00:17of colonial times, inappropriate for a multi-religious modern Malaysian society.
00:25Francis Paul Sia of the Movement for Change for Sarawak said PAS should keep its punitive
00:29measure for sharia offenses to Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis, the states governed
00:36by the party.
00:38He added that public caning puts Malaysia at odds with international norms and human
00:42rights standards.
00:44Sia said Sarawak's Islamic authorities were capable of making appropriate decisions for
00:49their state without adopting harsh measures from other regions.
00:53He said modern developments had shown that rehabilitation was better than retribution
00:58and noted disagreements among Islamic scholars about the necessity of public caning.
01:05Following the public caning of Afendi Awang in Terengganu, the Kelantan government is
01:08considering similar measures for sharia offenses, with PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin urging
01:14all states to follow Terengganu's lead in publicly caning a man convicted of halwat.
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