SUNGAI SIPUT: Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno has left her fate to the Pahang Religious Affairs Department (Jaip).

Her father Shukarno Mutalib said the 32-year-old part-time model would abide by whatever decision is reached by the relevant authorities (Jaip and the Kuantan Syariah High Court) following the advice of Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria.

"Kartika and I will abide by their decision whether to proceed with the caning after Ramadan or to quash the sentence.

"We just want this matter to be resolved quickly and in an amicable manner without humiliating anyone," said the 60-year old when met at his house in Kampung Jawang Utara here yesterday.

In Kuantan, however, Jaip chief prosecutor Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar said it was now up to Syariah Chief Judge Datuk Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman, who is also the state Syariah Court of Appeal chief judge, to revise the decision of the Syariah High Court judge on July 20 to cane Kartika.

"Jaip will not make a new application or an appeal to change the decision as we don't have the authority," he said yesterday.

"At the same time, other parties cannot file an appeal on behalf of Kartika."

Kartika, 32, was fined RM5,000 and sentenced to six strokes of the rotan by the Syariah High Court in Kuantan after she pleaded guilty to drinking beer at a hotel nightclub in Cherating in 2007. The part-time model settled the fine but refused to make an appeal as she said she was ready to be caned.

Shukarno also said that he respected Kartika's decision not to appeal against the caning and would not force her to do so.

"She has her own opinion (on the punishment) and I will not force her to change her mind (and appeal against the sentence)."

Kartika, however, was not at the house with her father as she had taken her second child to a specialist in poh to seek treatment for pneumonia. Jaip had obtained a warrant to detain Kartika at the Kajang women's prison for a week, from Monday, to enable the caning to be carried out.

However, the department postponed the punishment the same day on the advice of Hamid. Pahang Religious Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sahfri Abdul Razak had said the sentence would be carried out after Ramadan.

Jaip is to consult the Syariah Department on a new date. Rahim also said it would have been better for the revision to have been made before the warrant to detain Kartika was issued on Aug 18.

"It could have helped avoid a lot of confusion and debate on the issue if it had been made earlier."

He added that many people had blamed Jaip when its officers could not bring Kartika to the prison on Monday. On claims that the Prisons Department did not have the expertise to execute syariah caning, Rahim said it was not true as Jaip had already got the green light from the department for the punishment to be carried out at the Kajang women's prison.

"The department would have rejected our request if they did not have the expertise. -New Straits Times