Malaysian state mandates sharia law including amputations and stoning

From Al Arabiya:

A Malaysian state governed by an opposition Muslim party passed a law on Thursday mandating tough Islamic criminal punishments, a move that threatens to break up a fractious opposition alliance.

The state assembly of Kelantan, which is controlled by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), unanimously passed penalties including amputations for theft and stoning to death for adultery, according to Malaysian media reports.

It isn't law yet but here is some background:

Earlier, Kelantan chief minister Ahmad Yakob told the assembly that the new laws would be only applicable to all Muslims of sound mind and who have attained puberty and thereby deemed to be able to discern right from wrong.

"This law is certain to bring equal justice for all as it is a law designed by Allah the Great and Wise. Those who accused the law as inhumane are liars and such accusations are made by those immoral," he said.

DAP said hudud defies the Federal Constitution and it will continue to reject hudud as it is impractical and against the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalition's common policy framework.

DAP national political education director Liew Chin Tong said the amendment would create a wedge in PR and, if unresolved, could lead to a new anti-Umno coalition in the future.

The Bill stipulates six offences that are punishable under hudud. One of the offences is falsely accusing others of unlawful relations. Before a charge of illicit sex can be upheld, there must now be four witnesses to an act. This offence is punishable by 100 lashes.

Sodomy or anal sex is an offence not only between men or between a man and a woman out of wedlock, but also between husbands and wives in the absence of consent.

A wife may now lodge a police report against the husband for forcing anal sex on her. The offence is punishable by 100 lashes if the person is unmarried, and death by stoning if married.

Apostasy is considered a crime and could be punishable by death. Other offences that are punishable under the hudud law are theft (amputation of one hand), robbery (amputation of one hand and one foot), and consumption of liquor or intoxicants (80 lashes).

Hudud cannot be implemented as the Federal Constitution bars overlapping criminal codes, and a constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament - which Umno and PAS together cannot muster.

However, there have been suggestions that a legal carve-out could be implemented requiring a simple majority in Parliament.