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Implement law on witchcraft in all states, says UMP academician
KUALA LUMPUR, March 13, 2015:
Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) Committee for Advanced Studies in Witchcraft Law chairman Dr Mahyuddin Ismail urged for law on witchcraft to be implemented in all states in Malaysia to ensure no one will get away again for practising witchcraft.
Speaking to The Rakyat Post, Mahyuddin said several cases involving witchcraft had no legal standing in court as most cases involving witchcraft and murder saw the suspects being convicted on murder charges alone, not for witchcraft.
âAs an example, there was a case in Temerloh, Pahang where a bomoh told a man to bring him a manâs head to perform a ritual, and so the man beheaded a Bangladeshi. He was then charged in court for murder, but the mastermind behind the case, which was the bomoh, was not convicted.
âThis is why the Witchcraft Law is important. Take for example the Mona Fendi case. She was sentenced to death for murder, but what about all the sorceries she had carried out?
âThese cases were mentioned in court, but the accused were not charged for witchcraft. They were charged for murder alone,â said Mahyuddin.
According to him, after careful study, he and his team have come up with a standard operating procedure (SOP) to determine if one is practising witchcraft.
He said team had come up with several methods and questions to handle such cases.
After a person claims that he or she has been bewitched, several questions will be asked to prove whether the person has been put under a spell, or is just a schizophrenic.
He said as soon as they have found a suspect, they would gather the evidence and materials used in performing the rituals before making an arrest.
âThe authorities who would be involved in arresting the suspects must be equipped with knowledge on sorcery and how to avoid being another victim because there were cases where the officers who went to arrest the suspect ended up being bewitched.
âNot just the officer, but his family, too, was affected. They need to prepare themselves. As for the victim, religious treatment is important in healing the person.â
Mahyuddin said that from the time of the Mesopotamia civilization, witchcraft had existed, and it had continued on through the Roman Empire, where witches were burned to death.
âEven in the Bible, it is stated that those who perform sorcery should be killed. In South Africa, there is a law on witchcraft called as The Witchcraft Suppression Act, 1957.
âIn Saudi Arabia, those who are found guilty of practising witchcraft will be beheaded, but there is no written law on it,â Mahyuddin added.
Since the study was conducted by UMP, several quarters have shown interest in implementing the law.
According to Mahyuddin, Brunei has showed keen interest on the findings and has asked for it to be implemented in the country.
âThere is a provision of this law in Brunei under Section 208 of the Syariah Penal Code, but it is not complete yet and the government has asked us to help it with the SOP.â
The study also received a grant of RM189,000 from the Education Ministry under the Knowledge Transfer Programme.
The SOP on the Witchcraft Law was a result of a two-year study, which began in February 2013, involving individuals from various fields, including Islamic medical practitioners, Islamic scholars, judges and psychiatrists.
âWe hope the media will help us to spread the word about this law as it is important to combat the use of witchcraft.â