A GROUP of civil society organisations have called on the government to abolish the sentence of whipping or caning.

They said this form of punishment was inhumane, degrading and a violation of human rights. 

They also said whipping or caning exists as sentences for more than 50 different criminal offences, and many times as a mandatory sentence, in Malaysia.

“Penal whipping is so much worse than the caning normally imposed by Islamic law in Malaysia. 

“Poor undocumented foreigners and/or migrant workers are the biggest victims of whipping in Malaysia,” the groups said in a statement today.

They said the British first introduced this form of punishment in the 19th century.

“Many countries have already abolished whipping as a punishment from their statutes, such as India and the United Kingdom. In April 2020, it was reported that Saudi Arabia also abolished flogging as a form of punishment,” the groups said.

However in Malaysia it is still widely used, including as a mandatory sentence, they added.

The groups gave an example of the Immigration Act 1959/1963, which was amended in 2002 to incorporate whipping for undocumented migrants, in addition to their jail sentence and fine.

They added that the recently passed Abolition Of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 that provides for an alternative to death penalty has now also firmed up the punishment by whipping.

“This means that if one is not sentenced to death, but to imprisonment then judges have no choice but to sentence to be whipped at least 12 times. 

“Parliament removed the judge’s discretion not to hand down the whipping sentence by making the sentence mandatory.”

The groups said calls for the abolition of whipping as a punishment had long been made in Malaysia, including by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission.

Even backbenchers such as Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim had called for the abolition of the “sadistic, primitive and inhumane” caning punishment, said the groups.

“We ask that the current Pakatan Harapan-led unity government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, if committed to human rights, will speedily abolish whipping and corporal punishment in Malaysia, which is internationally acknowledged form of torture,” they said.

They added that for starters, the government can impose an immediate moratorium on whipping pending abolition.

The groups also called on Malaysia to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The groups are:

1. Aliran
2. Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture
3. Guatemala-based Association of Domestic and Maquila Workers 
4. Australians Against Capital Punishment
5. Black Women for Wages for Housework
6. International Building and Wood Workers International
7. German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
8. Global Women’s Strike
9. Haiti Action Committee
10. International Women’s Rights Action Watch
11. Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Centre
12. India-based Lawyers Collective
13. UK-based Legal Action for Women
14. Malaysian Physicians for the Prevention of War
15. Migrant Care 
16. MAP Foundation (Thailand) 
17. North South Initiative
18. Payday men’s network (UK/US) 
19. Malaysian Academic Movement
20. Redemption (Pakistan) 
21. Sabah Plantation Industry Employees Union
22. Sarawak Dayak Iban Association
23. Women of Colour/Global Women’s Strike (US)
24. Workers Hub For Change. – July 28, 2023.