As for Brunei, please refer to my previous posting（http://d.hatena.ne.jp/itunalily2/20131024）. (Lily)
1.“Sun Daily”（http://www.thesundaily.my）
(1)19 Islamic words banned for non-Muslims in Brunei, 23 February 2014
by Sulok Tawie (newsdesk@thesundaily.com)
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Feb 23, 2014): The Brunei government will ban the use of 19 Islamic words, including "Allah" and "masjid", by non-Muslims, according to the Brunei Times today.
The ban will take effect from April, the paper said.
Under the Syariah Penal Code Order, these words cannot be used with respect to other religions.
They are azan; baitullah; Al Quran; Allah; fatwa; Firman Allah; hadith; haji; hukum syara'; ilahi; Ka'bah; kalimah al syahadah; kiblat; masjid; imam; mufti; mu'min; solat; and wali.
The Brunei Times quoted Hardifadhillah Mohd Salleh, a senior syariah legal officer of the Islamic Legal Unit as telling staff of the Industry and Primary Resources Ministry on key parts of the order during a briefing.
He also said certain provisions of the order also apply to non-Muslims, such as zina (adultery) with a Muslim partner, drinking alcohol in a public place, and khalwat (close proximity) with a Muslim partner.
If convicted, the penalty is a fine of up to B$4,000 and/or one year in prison.
For adultery between a married Muslim and a married non-Muslim, both parties can be punished by stoning to death if the offence is proven by confession, or the testimony of four eye-witnesses.
The paper quoted Hardifadhillah as saying that any person who instigates any Muslim man or woman to divorce, or neglect their duties towards their partner can be fined up to B$4,000 and/or jailed for a year.
"Additionally, any Muslim parent who surrenders his child into the care of a non-Muslim can be fined up to B$20,000 and/or jailed for up to five years," he was quoted as saying.
Brunei will enforce the Syariah Penal Code Order in three phases.
(2) Sultan of Brunei introduces tough Islamic punishments, 22 October 2013
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Oct 22, 2013): The Sultan of Brunei on Tuesday introduced tough Islamic punishments including death by stoning for crimes such as adultery, making his oil-rich realm the first East Asian country to do so at the national level.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- one of the world's wealthiest men -- said a new Sharia Penal Code in the works for years was officially introduced Tuesday and would "come into force six months hereafter and in phases", sparking sharp criticism from rights groups.
Under the code, which applies only to Muslims, punishments can include stoning to death for adultery, severing of limbs for theft, and flogging for violations ranging from abortion to alcohol consumption.
"By the grace of Allah, with the coming into effect of this legislation, our duty to Allah is therefore being fulfilled," the sultan, 67, said in a speech.
An absolute monarch whose family has tightly controlled the tiny, languid realm of 400,000 people for six centuries, the sultan first called in 1996 for sharia criminal punishments.
"Brunei is showing its feudal characteristics as an 18th-century state rather than an important member of a regional Southeast Asian economic and social consensus in the 21st century," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
He called the legal change "rights-abusing, abhorrent, and absolutely unjustifiable".
Brunei already practices a brand of Islam that is relatively conservative compared to its Muslim neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, banning the sale and public consumption of alcohol and closely restricting other religions.
But sharia has been a rare point of contention in a land where the sultan's word is unquestioned, with many Bruneians quietly grumbling that the concept is out of step with the affluent country's laid-back ethnic Malay society.
The monarch himself has acknowledged concerns over sharia in recent years as the code was being drafted.
Compatible with Malay culture?
But he has repeatedly advocated strengthening the insular nation's Muslim roots in the face of potentially harmful outside influences including the internet, while guarding against radicalism.
However, Brunei was likely to apply sharia law "very, very softly" in keeping with its peaceful national character, said Gibril Fouad Haddad, a visiting fellow at Brunei's Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies.
"Is it merely symbolic? I don't know," he said.
The government has previously promised to apply an extremely high burden of proof with sharia and said judges would have wide discretion in applying it, comments aimed at easing public fears.
"It seems almost incompatible with Malay culture, which is peace-loving," said Tuah Ibrahim, 57, driver of a boat taxi in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
He said sharia can be acceptable if proportionate to the crime, but adds: "I can't imagine our country turning into Saudi Arabia."
Neither of East Asia's two other Muslim-majority countries -- Malaysia and Indonesia -- impose sharia criminal punishments, but the Indonesian special region of Aceh does.
Nearly 70% of Brunei's people are Muslim Malays while about 15% are non-Muslim ethnic Chinese.
Brunei already has a dual system combining civil courts based on British law -- the sultanate was a British protectorate until 1984 -- and sharia-compliant courts handling marital, inheritance, and other low-key issues.
In his speech, the sultan appeared to try to assuage any international concerns, saying the sharia change "does not in any way change our policies ... as a member of the family of nations".
The monarch's wealth -- estimated at US$20 billion by Forbes magazine two years ago -- has become legendary amid reports of a vast collection of luxury vehicles and gold-bedecked palaces.
The monarchy was deeply embarrassed by a sensational family feud between Hassanal and his younger brother Jefri Bolkiah over the latter's alleged embezzlement of 15 billion dollars during his tenure as finance minister in the 1990s.
Court battles and exposes revealed salacious details of Jefri's un-Islamic jet-set lifestyle, including allegations of a high-priced harem of Western paramours and a luxury yacht he owned called "Tits". – AFP
2.Union of Catholic Asian News（http://www.ucanews.com/）
Malaysian newspaper tells non-Malays not to insult Islam, 25 February 2014
In strongly warlike terms, editor warns against 'playing with fire'
(Note: Utusan Malaysia, literally translated from Malay to English as the "Malaysian Courier," is a Malay language newspaper. It serves as the unofficial mouthpiece of Malaysia's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, UMNO, which owns it.)
Utusan Malaysia on Sunday Feb 16 launched a stinging attack on non-Malays, accusing them of insulting Islam, Muslims and the Malay rulers, and warning them to know their "limits".
In an article by the deputy editor of the paper's weekend edition Mingguan Malaysia, the daily said the "laidback, compromising" attitude of the Malays had led to non-Malays overstepping their boundaries and daring to question previously off-limit subjects.
"Non-Malays have apparently forgotten that Malaysia's majority population is Malays. They have no respect at all for the Bumiputera. Why has this happened? It is because we are too compromising, too afraid to take action against those who have insulted Malays and Islam.
"In the end, it appears as if non-Malays are the landlords and Malays are the tenants, immigrants and the minority in our own country," wrote Azman Anuar in his article entitled "Melayu, Islam dihina di Tanah Melayu!".
"Ever since respected and knowledgeable Malay leaders withdrew several years ago, non-Muslims have become emboldened in insulting the Malay community and Islam,” he said, without naming the Malay leaders.
He said non-Malays appeared to have forgotten that their ancestors became Malaysian citizens due to the Malays' compromise.
"Now that they have prospered and gained a firmer foothold both economically and politically, non-Malays forget that it was given to them by the Malays,"
Saying non-Malays were playing with fire, Azman, who was recently promoted to his current post in the paper, also accused them of refusing to respect Malay culture, language and customs.
"It is just a matter of time before the hornets who are attempting to defend their nests against intruders will retaliate."
He said until today, "the hornets have not revealed their sting" as they are merely making noise and appearing to go on the offensive so that intruders would feel apprehensive.
"This is the actions of Malays who are still patient in the face of various provocations. But if pushed further, the hornets will not keep silent.
"If the nest is invaded and burnt just so that the honey can be taken away, Malays will not be so tolerant anymore," he went on with his metaphors.
• As such, the paper said the recent cash reward offer by several Malay organisation to anyone who slapped Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, over her satirical online video which angered Umno leaders, was merely a stern warning.--The Malaysian Insider
(Source: Herald-Malaysia)
(End)
