Permatang Pauh: Rule of law over oath-swearing

'Rule of law over oath-swearing' By IZATUN SHARI August 24, 2008 - The Star BANGI: Swearing on the Quran is not in accordance with the concept of the rule of law, said one of Malaysia's most distinguished lawyers, Raja Aziz Addruse. Raja Aziz, who is also former Bar Council chairman, said it was the courts that decided whether one had committed an offence or not. "It is not for you to say, 'I didn't commit because now I'm swearing it' ... . That is not according to our rule of law," he said at Malaysia Think Tank's seminar on rule of law here on Sunday. "How did we get to this stage? How can people bypass the law by swearing on the Quran?" he said in response to a question by a participant at the seminar on whether swearing on the Quran was regarded as undermining the court. "It does seem to be a strange procedure for proving innocence. It is nothing. It's not a procedure the court allows for," he added. Another speaker Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, professor of law and legal advisor to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), however said there was nothing wrong with taking such an oath, but it was abuse of religion and not encouraged. "It is religiously improper but I don't think it is contempt of court. A lot of times people were tried in the court of law. Even after they are found guilty. They’ll say 'I'm innocent.' "But for people to start saying, X is a victim and Y is a violator. That is contempt of court," he said. Dr Aziz Bahari, professor of law at Islamic International University (IIU), said the recent flurry of oath-taking was a worrying trend. "This is politics. It undermines religion and is not required by Islam." ...source