Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno Finally Opens Up
Remember Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, the Malaysian model who was charged with consuming alcohol in Pahang and who was sentenced to a fine and 6 lashes of the cane by the Syariah High Court? Her case attracted widespread attention, and she would have been the first woman to be caned in Malaysia but for a series of intervening events that finally saw her caning sentence commuted by the Sultan of Pahang to a stint at a children’s home. Throughout the long saga, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno had played the role of a woman who accepted the punishment meted out by the Syariah High Court, and who wanted the caning sentence to proceed. But now Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno has spoken up about her true feelings even as a professor said that the caning sentence was a human enactment camouflaged as syariah.
Mencari Kartika (In Search Of Kartika)
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno finally appeared in a movie of sort. In a 40-minute video produced and directed by Norhayati Kaprawi entitled “Mencari Kartika” (which means “In Search of Kartika”), Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno revealed for the first time that she was angry at the syariah system that convicted and sentenced her. Prior to this revelation, there was no indication whatsoever that Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was angry with the syariah system.
Referring to the moment when Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno declared her willingness to be whipped and her refusal to appeal the caning sentence, Norhayati Kaprawi said: “It was her protest.” Mencari Kartika also shows Shukarno Abdul Mutalib, father of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, saying that he was given questionable advice on how to appeal the caning sentence through the syariah court system. The impression given in this documentary is that neither Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno nor his father agreed that Muslims the state should treat Muslims so harshly in the name of Islam.
The documentary is also about how Muslim Malaysians viewed their own country in the light of the caning sentence passed on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno. Towards this end, the documentary Mencari Kartika also featured interviews with Saadiah Din and other syarie lawyers, members of the public and even Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and Dr Siti Mariah of PAS.
Sisters In Islam
Women advocacy group, Sisters In Islam screened this Mencari Kartika documentary recently. Following the screening there was a panel discussion. Panelist Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi said that the caning sentence was a “human enactment camouflaged as syariah.”
Panelist Prof Noraini Othman said: “The symbol of Islam is justice. Instead, whipping now is the symbol of Islam.” Joe Gomez, a Roman Catholic, asked a question: “Our opinions don’t seem to matter in Malaysia. What can we do to help out?” To this, socialist Prof Noraini Othman replied: “If the state uses Islam to terrorize the people into silence, then we all have to stand up.”
An Islamic expert called the caning sentence meted to Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno a sign of the slow “talibanization” of Malay society.
Think About It
Why did Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno and her father agree to be featured in this documentary? Why appear in a documentary that is essentially about the extent of the Islamization of Malaysia instead of a movie about her ordeal in the whole caning saga? How will this documentary, Mencari Kartika, advance the cause of women in Malaysia? Will it lead to a harmonization of the Civil and Syariah Laws in Malaysia? Civil laws prohibits the caning of women in Malaysia which Syariah law permits it.
Previous posts
Kartika Caning Case – Freedom At Last
Kartika Caning – Changed To Community Service By Sultan
Kartika Caning – “Don’t Leave Me In Limbo”
Kartika Wants Caning Sentence To Be Carried Out
Who Is Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno?
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