Brunei has sparked international criticism for implementing harsh new laws which make anal sex, adultery and abortion, among other acts, punishable by stoning to death.
The punishments make the tiny Muslim-majority sultanate the first country in Southeast Asia to have a penal code based on Sharia law at a national level (in Indonesia, only the Aceh province adheres to traditional Islamic law).
On March 30, the office of Brunei’s Prime Minister — Hassanal Bolkiah, who is also the Sultan — issued a press statement confirming the new penal code would go into effect on April 3.
“Brunei Darussalam is a sovereign Islamic and fully independent country and, like all other independent countries, enforces its own rule of laws.”
Hassanal Bolkiah is the Sultan and Prime Minister of Brunei.
On March 31, New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters issued a statement expressing concern at Brunei’s implementation of Sharia law.
“It is seriously regrettable that Brunei’s decision contravenes a number of international norms on human rights. New Zealand opposes any kind of discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation. We are also deeply concerned at the use of punishments that are cruel, inhuman or degrading.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told TVNZ’s 1 News the sultan’s decision challenged two specific issues which New Zealand is opposed to.
“New Zealand has always stood against the death penalty, in all its forms, for any reason; New Zealand has also stood firmly in favour of the right of our rainbow community to live their lives, freely, openly and without fear for their safety.”
Former Prime Minister and United Nations Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark said on Twitter it was “hard to comprehend what could be driving such a barbaric move which stands in stark opposition to fundamental human rights principles”.
Shocking news from #Brunei 🇧🇳 where new penal code provides for death by stoning as punishment for gay sex. Hard to comprehend what could be driving such a barbaric move which stands in stark opposition to fundamental #humanrights principles. @hrw https://t.co/fw9z2IsuZV
— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) March 28, 2019
A number of celebrities added their voices to the outcry, with George Clooney leading calls for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, including The Dorchester in London and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Virgin Australia cancelled a travel agreement which allowed staff to book discounted tickets on Royal Brunei Airlines.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson described the new penal code as “barbaric to the core”, and called on Hassanal Bolkiah to immediately suspend the punishments.
However, many people who have lived and worked in Brunei say the new laws are mostly symbolic. People can only be convicted if they confess, or if there are at least four witnesses.
As one former expat told the South China Morning Post: "Brunei is just replicating what Arab countries have done to appease [their citizens], to gain [credibility] as an Islamic country. But there's a large LGBT community there and they're all pretty open about it. I don't think anyone is going to actually be stoned to death."
Read New Zealand media coverage here:
STUFF: NZ ‘deeply concerned’ about Brunei death penalty for homosexuality, says Winston Peters
NZ HERALD: Winston Peters criticises Brunei for imposing strict Sharia law
TVNZ: Jacinda Ardern speaks out against new Brunei law punishing gay sex with death by stoning
RADIO NZ: Death by stoning for gay sex, abortion in ‘barbaric’ Brunei
STUFF: Brunei hotel boycott: What travellers need to know
TVNZ: Kiwis in Brunei 'strongly advised' to observe law which imposes death penalty for gay sex, adultery
OTAGO DAILY TIMES: How should we react to Sharia?
- Asia Media Centre