Bandar Seri Begawan

Kevin's favourite capital of the week (April 20^th 2014): Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei.

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has stirred some controversy lately by putting into motion a plan that will have Brunei under a stricter form of the Shariah Penal code in two days time. The code will mostly only apply to the country's Muslims and has been used in a limited form for Bruneian Muslims since at 1991, but only in certain civil matters. There are some laws against the propagation of a religion other than Islam that will apply to all in Brunei, even extending to private schools. The secular laws of the country already mete out some harsh punishment, but the additional laws will go much further. Theft will now be punishable by the loss of a hand, adultery and “sodomy” by stoning to death (homosexual acts are already punishable by 10 years in prison). Other acts that can get one stoned to death will include insulting any verse in the Quaran, declaring oneself a prophet or a non-Muslim and murder. Human rights groups and the United nations have condemned the act as regressive and in breach of international laws. Stoning is, by such laws considered an act of torture. All this is odd in a country that has not put anyone to death since it became an independent nation.

According to an Independent article, the minority Catholic Filipinos who work in the country might not be allowed to baptize their children if the law against the propagation of religions other than Islam is really enforced. It is feared that this will be the case by 2016. Theft appears to another one that might apply to more than just the Muslim population, at least it seemed to be hinted that might be the case by Mufti Awang Abdul Aziz, Brunei's leading Islamic scholar. In a speech defending the laws, Mufti Awang Abdul Aziz, stated that potential tourists need not fear the laws provided they followed them. He noted that it was not likely that a tourist comes to Brunei with the intention of theft.

 It is unknown exactly what is motivating the 67 year old Sultan, who is mostly well loved by the people of Brunei, but there were some hints, perhaps, in his National day speech in February. He suggested that the laws were to help defend the people Brunei against the lack of morality that could be seen around the world due to globalization. The internet appears to be one of the best ways to see that lack of morality. In the speech he also condemned the criticism the laws were receiving via social media, such as Twitter and Whatsapp, and suggested that the people making these criticisms could soon be prosecuted. Other sources note that crime has been on the rise in the small Sultanate and this could be the reason for the harsher laws. Crime, though, seems to stem from a lack of jobs in the country and not from any moral bankruptcy. Perhaps things will be clearer in the future. Whatever the reason for this new imposition, I'm currently wishing we had visited Brunei while we had the chance.