KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - - Malaysia said Tuesday a caning sentence handed to a Muslim model for drinking beer would be reviewed, because it was "too harsh" and could damage the nation's reputation.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was found guilty of drinking at a hotel nightclub and sentenced by a religious court last month, making her the first woman to face caning under Islamic law in Malaysia.
She won a surprise reprieve Monday when she was detained and then abruptly released by religious officials who had planned to take her to a jail where she was to undergo the thrashing.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the chief judge of a state Sharia appeals court had ordered the sentence to be deferred pending the review.
"The overriding view was that the sentence meted out was too harsh and is not commensurate with the offence," she said.
"We are equally concerned not only for Kartika Sari, but also for the fact that this one particular case could have damaged the image of Malaysia in its fair and just implementation of the Sharia law."
Prime Minister Najib Razak earlier Tuesday urged Kartika to appeal the sentence, which has generated unwelcome headlines and jeopardised Malaysia's image as a moderate Muslim-majority nation.
"I believe the authorities concerned are sensitive on this matter and realise the implications of this case," he said.
"I feel the person concerned should appeal to the state authorities and not be so willing to accept the punishment."
But the mother-of-two, who has stared down religious authorities by challenging them to cane her in public, again refused and said that if the courts wanted to back down they should do so openly.
"I won't file any appeal," she said in a telephone interview with AFP. "Carry on and cane me, don't waste my time."
Kartika said she had sought the advice of a judge and a religious scholar in her family's home state of Perak, who advised her to "calm down and keep quiet for the time being" while legal authorities discussed her fate.
Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Malaysia to abolish the "cruel and degrading punishment."
The conservative Islamic party PAS said Tuesday however that religious authorities should not be deterred by pressure from civil society groups, and that the thrashing should go ahead immediately.
"It would be good for Kartika if the sentence can be carried out now if she is ready to accept it, because this is the holy month of Ramadan and she will be more remorseful," PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi told AFP.
Malaysia, a multicultural country with large Chinese and Indian communities, has a dual-track legal system and sharia courts can try Muslims for religious and moral offences.
Although alcohol is widely available, it is forbidden for Muslim Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population. They can be fined, caned, or jailed for up to three years but prosecutions are extremely rare.
Kartika's case comes as the government of Selangor state, which surrounds the capital Kuala Lumpur, debates the availability of alcohol.
State legislator Hassan Mohammad Ali said Tuesday that mosque officials had been given the power to arrest Muslims who drink alcohol and violate other Islamic laws.
"The new policy allows these individuals to arrest Muslims who are caught drinking alcohol, who don't fast during the fasting month of Ramadan and many other violations of Islam including prostitution," he told AFP.
"However, we urge these new authorities not to be overzealous in carrying out their duties... as the idea of the law is to instill an Islamic way of life for Muslims and not to create fear for Muslims and non-Muslims."
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