MINISTRY TO ORGANISE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CANING

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- The Women, Family and Community
Development Ministry, through the Secretariat of Advocacy and Empowerment of
Muslim Women, will organised an international conference on the caning sentence,
Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said.

She said the conference would discuss the caning sentence among Muslim
countries.

"The ministry hopes that through the conference, which will be attended by
ministers and experts, we can make a comparative study whether the sentence is
normally practised among Muslim countries," she told reporters after signing a
memorandum of cooperation between the ministry and Oman's Social Development
Ministry here Monday.

Shahrizat said the proposal for the conference, expected to be held as early
as three months from now, would be submitted to the cabinet soon.

"We can share ideas and practices and gain in-depth knowledge on how each
country views the caning sentence," she said.


Shahrizat also extended an invitation to Oman's Social Development Minister
Dr Sharifa Khalfan Al Yahyaeiyah to attend the conference as one of the
speakers.

Meanwhile, Dr Sharifa said Oman had no provisions for the caning sentence
either under Syariah or civil law.

On the memorandum, Shahrizat said it covered issues regarding women,
families, elderly, children and the disabled as well as on gender studies.

"We hope that through the memorandum, we can exchange best practices and
share experience," she added.

-- BERNAMA