Brunei’s sultan on April 3 called for Islamic teachings in the country to be strengthened as strict new Shariah punishments, including death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, were due to come into force. The tough penal code in the tiny country on tropical Borneo island – ruled by the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – is set to be fully implemented following years of delays.
The laws, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, will make Brunei the first place in East or Southeast Asia to have a Shariah penal code at the national level, joining several mostly Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia. Rape and robbery are also punishable by death under the code and many of the new laws, such as capital punishment for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, apply to non-Muslims as well as Muslims.
The new laws make sex between men punishable by death by stoning. For women convicted of having sexual relations with other women, the maximum punishment is 40 strokes of the cane or a maximum 10-year jail term. The first section of the code was introduced in 2014 and included less stringent penalties, such as fines or jail terms for offenses including indecent behaviour or skipping Friday prayers.
In a public address to mark a special date in the Islamic calendar, the sultan called for stronger Islamic teachings but did not mention the new penal code. “I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger,” he said in the nationally televised speech at a convention centre near the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. “I would like to emphasise that the country of Brunei is a… country that always devotes its worship to Allah.”
He said that he wanted the Muslim call to prayer to ring out in all public places, not just in mosques, to remind people of their Islamic duties. The sultan, who has been on the throne for over five decades, also insisted that Brunei was a “fair and happy” country. “Anyone who comes to visit this country will have a sweet experience, and enjoy the safe and harmonious environment,” he said.
The sultan, who is the world’s second-longest reigning monarch, first called for the penal code in the late 1990s and it appears to enjoy broad support in the former British protectorate of about 400,000 people.
Analysts say he is seeking to burnish his Islamic credentials and shore up support among the country’s conservatives due to the waning fortunes of the oil-dependent economy, which has been ravaged by recession in recent years.