Even if the country's civil courts are not spared of selective prosecution, can the syariah court enforcing hudud, which provides for significantly tougher punishments, escape the same problem?

This is a question posed by Bar Council president Christopher Leong at a forum on 'Hudud in Malaysia: Can we? Should we?' organised by the MCA Youth legal bureau at MCA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Leong was speaking at the second session of the forum, which also featured Malaysia Syarie Lawyers Association president Musa Awang and Bar Council constitutional committee chairperson Firdaus Husni.

After elaborating at length on the constitutional constraints of hudud law, Leong touched on the arguments of Umno leaders that, from a religious perspective, hudud can be suspended if the situation is not right.