Based on these news articles:

• Tan, Y. (2019, April 3). Brunei implements stoning to death under anti-LGBT laws. In BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47769964*/

• Lamb, K. (2019, April 3). Brunei brings in stoning to death for gay sex, despite outcry. In The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/03/brunei-death-by-stoning-gay-sex-adultery-sharia-law

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Legalizing same-sex marriage is a hotly debated issue. Some are all for same-sex marriage while others do not agree to it, but both sides agree that homosexuality exists. The LGBT+ are already deprived of the right to marry but in Brunei, they are also denied the right to exist in the first place. Homosexuality was already illegal in Brunei. Anyone convicted for homosexuality will be imprisoned for 10 years. Recently, their government passed a law that homosexuals will be sentenced to death by stoning.

According to Ms. Yvette Tan of BBC News, this new law also sentences rapists, adulterers, thieves, and those who vilify Prophet Muhammad. Male homosexuals who engage in anal sex will be stoned, but female homosexuals will be whipped 40 times. Thieves will have their hands and feet amputated. What these 4 have in common is that they hurt another person. They have victims. To include homosexuals to that list is ridiculous. You do not hurt another person simply because you prefer to date another person of the same sex.

The United Nations said that the revised penal code was a “serious setback” for human rights because it was “cruel, inhuman, and degrading.” Another international response was from George Clooney, a famous Hollywood actor. His call for a boycott of nine luxury hotels linked with Brunei was supported by many people all over the world.

According to Ms. Kate Lamb, a reporter from The Guardian, this new law makes Brunei the first ever country in Southeast Asia to implement a sharia penal code.

Kate Lamb also reported that Tim Lindsey, a specialist on Sharia Law in Southeast Asia at Melbourne University said:

“The [Sharia Code] is not a product of popular demand,” and added “This is a direct, top-down creation, it is something the sultan has pushed extremely hard for over decades. His political legitimacy relies to a great extent on his displaying Islamic credentials.”

Moreover, it was only posted on the attorney general’s website last December 2018 with no public announcement. The citizens did not know there was a new law because, realistically, not everyone opens the website daily. The people were not consulted.

In an interview with BBC News, Shahiran S Shahrani Md said:

“The gay community in Brunei has never been open but when Grindr [a gay dating app] came that helped people meet in secret. But now, what I’ve heard is that hardly anyone is using Grindr anymore” because “They’re afraid that they might talk to a police officer pretending to be gay. It hasn’t happened yet but because of the new laws, people are afraid.”

This shows that it breeds a culture of fear instead of a culture of respect for the law. This makes us ask the question: is this law for the people, or against the people? The weapon of terrorists is fear, but the weapon of proper governance is respect.