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backinplace RELIGION LAW POLITICAL SCIENCE
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This zine, ‘Backinplace’, works handin-hand with Instagram account @ pacitbackinplace. ‘Backinplace’ is an initiative independent of any third party organisation or collaborative, solely founded by a student passionate about social issues and starting conversations through art that is accessible for all. Made to inspire change; For active agents of society to stand up and be the change they want to see. A collection of illustrations and texts providing insights, perspectives and collation of all the things happening around us; of things that affect us. The following texts and images seek to spark change with ground-up initiatives or even just the simple act of sharing with the next person you meet.
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“have you seen the latest legislation?”
“yeah! like that how do I know what is really ilelgal? is it judged by sin or non-sin?”
current contention What is happening in Brunei? 3 April 2019. This is a date that will be of significance to Brunei. This date marks the full implementation of the Sharia law; the displacement of the dual-legal system that operated based on the Sharia law and common law. The newly introduced law sees gay sex, adultery and rape being punishable through whipping or stoning to death. Despite being a country that holds a multicultural population consisting of 1/3 who are non-Muslims, the Sharia law will apply to all Bruneians. Following the announcement of the latest legislation by Brunei, we have since heard international outcry and condemnation from many such as the Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Commission, decrying this law to be inhumane, archaic and barbaric. It has been justified by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah that this law was “created by Allah the Almighty for Brunei so that we can obtain justice” and will be a vehicle for educating the state of the teachings of Islam. As such, International ground-up initiatives such as protests and boycotts encouraged by celebrities and organisations have been witnessed since. Beyond the international spotlight on this matter, we also see a displacement of the LGBTQIA community in Brunei.
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violation of human rights “I urge the government of Brunei to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code. Any religionbased legislation must not violate human rights, including the rights of those belonging to the majority religion as well as of religious minorities and nonbelievers” - Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights “The U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that human rights are to be upheld in relation to every person everywhere without any kind of discrimination. The legislation approved is in clear violation with the principles expressed. So long as people face criminalisation, bias and violence based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics, we must redouble our efforts to end these violations. Everyone is entitled to live free and equal in dignity and rights,” - U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
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boycotts
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displacement of communities Backinplace interviewed members of the LGBT community to hear their sentiments.. Pseudonyms have been used to protect their identities. Interview #1 We speak with Zoey, 21, a transgender woman who’s currently seeking asylum in Vancouver. Backinplace (BiP): Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us. Zoey (Z): I should thank you instead for giving me a chance to share my story. BiP: We’re most glad to. So, we see that the law in Brunei has been taken over by Islam. What was your first reaction when you heard about the law? Z: I was surprised but not shocked at all. I did not expect it to happen this quick. I thought they would just reinforce Sharia law for Muslims and operate parallel with the common law. I left Brunei precisely because I wanted to live life in my own terms; without religious fundamentalism, conservatism. Under this law, I would have been fined, caned and jailed previously. And maybe stoned to death now. BiP: Personally, I see that religion has consumed politics and the law to form its own terms. And we also then see it enforced as the Sharia law. It’s conflicting for everyone, isn’t it?
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Z: Yeah, I’m no longer Muslim. When my closest friends first knew that I denounced Islam back in 2014, a year after I came out as trans. Many scorned at my decision, especially since Brunei has a large percentage of Muslims. They told me to be careful lest I get bashed up or something. I just think it’s not fair to force everyone to operate based on Islam. Plus, in this context, many other things in society also depends on the law to operate. You can’t use the Koran to punish someone who’s Buddhist, you know what I mean? That’s not respectful to the individual and the religion either. BiP: Has anything changed significant changed ever since you moved to Vancouver? Z: I’m awaiting for citizenship right now but things picked up immediately when I moved here. I’m free to be myself. Beyond wide LGBTQIA support and community here, everyone is accepting of you, opened to you being yourself. It’s liberating. Maybe it’s because I came from Brunei that is super conservative. When I first arrived and walked on the streets, I could feel the love and acceptance in the air, it’s almost like this place just bustles with life. In Brunei, if you walk down the streets dressed flamboyantly in skinny jeans and heeled boots, someone will try to run you over – tried and tested (laughs). BiP: Any last thoughts that you’d like to share with everyone who’s reading the zine? Z: We speak of equality and fairness for every individual these days, the law works the exact opposite – in no way equal or fair. Being both trans and an ex-Muslim, I fear for my life, it’s like every realm of society is against me. If I get sent back to Brunei, I would rather die. Being dead is better than being alive, I don’t want to live in a society like this.
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Interview #2 Khai, 19, identifies as a gay man and is currently living in Brunei. Backinplace (BiP): Hi, thanks for writing in and agreeing to a follow up interview. To begin, would you mind sharing your first thoughts on the latest legislation? Khai (K): The laws are inhumane. It’s a very aggressive punishment. It’s not something that a human should suffer just because of being a homosexual. I don’t know if it would be worse because I’m Muslim since they enforce it on everybody, as long as you are in Brunei territory. BiP: Do you feel like the social climate towards this has changed ever since?
K: In Brunei, we used to be a very close knit community even though we didn’t really know each other that well. With the law coming out, if somebody has something on you in the Brunei Security Services, I can easily see myself selling other people out just to save my own skin. It was already bad identifying as anything other than straight and being masculine, because we’re Asian, we’re conservative, we’re Muslim, they use the Koran against us (gays) although I feel it’s a separate matter altogether – religion and sexuality. I thought I would not be accepted by the people around me, my family and friends. My parents would most likely have sent me for religious counselling. Now, with the new law, it’s like reinforcing or reassuring people who use religion to condemn gays that they’re doing the right thing. I believe in Islam but I don’t think you can use religion as the answer to everything or let religion dictate every part of your life. We already use Allah as an excuse for the new law, it can get worse. I can’t imagine if everything in society was based on religion, like learning science that is taught based on religion? That’s just unhealthy and I can’t stomach it. BiP: Is there specific change you want to see? K: I don’t think Brunei can change anytime soon, it’s hard to change people. Brunei is a Monarchy, change in the government won’t happen unless we, communities, are stronger than it. We have to be very very firm and certain. Your choice, fight or flight. I feel like I’m alone in this because I have no where to speak up. I don’t want them to wait for that to happen, I don’t want my country to be responsible for the death of my friends due to simply being who they are.
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the long term impact yet unseen
The aforementioned could only stay for as long as a knee jerk reaction would. Are Bruneians ready to pay for the far-reaching effects? The increasing dominance and exertion of religion as a system in Brunei is pervasive and has visibly disruption the lives of many individuals and communities. If we look beyond the surface of these, the violation of human rights that has led to boycotts and displacement of communities could snowball to accumulate long-term detrimental effects on the landscape of Brunei. At the crux of this is the threat it poses to nation building and the shared identity. Laws that are meant to protect its citizens, now marginalise them and place them in positions of danger. These marginalised communities and lives contribute to the social whole, no less. There is a need to recognise that we are shaped by many other factors that have been here before us and what it is the interaction of all things tacit or explicit; undetermined or predetermined. It is our role as individuals of change and individuals of society to participate in constructing a city that we call ours; one that we construct with meaning and purpose. Everything has its own time, place and purpose. The law, new or old, shapes our social landscape. The law affects the comprehension of our environment. The law determines what is lawful and unlawful; legal and illegal. This is what provides a universal language in regulating social behaviours and the social world that in turn, protect individual entities and the collective identity. When the religion of Islam takes the place of the law to perform its duties, it changes the ways in which meaning is made, how do we differentiate right from wrong? Laws constitute the enshrinement of our values and highlight our national conscience or the way we see our nation. These laws, together with symbols, myths, language, religion, ethnicity, history and shared values, they cohesively form the national identity and the social identity respectively that in turn cements a feeling of belonging. The inevitable continuous and permanent internalisation of our social setting results in the construction of individual identity within a social dimension that results in the common consensus of a formed national identity. If Bruneians do not stand together, being firmer than ever about who they truly are, or want to be, its identity will falter under such substantive shifts. Such concretisation of the national identity is not trivial. The national identity forms the basis of our individual identities. This identity is one that is presented to your immediate surroundings and is of equal significance in determining you as an individual on the world stage. With economic globalisation impeded by the boycotts and with cultural globalisation occurring so quickly, the fragmentation of the Brunei nationstate will definitely no see a win-win situation here. We witness the extent of globalisation and mass media, the fast sweeping judgements that have exerted its effects on Brunei in such a short span of time. Will we allow any of our identity to be shaken?
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know it We find our sovereignty as a nation as socially, culturally, economically and politically integrated people. It is the space we are in, the common history we share, the laws and duties we share and the economy that ensures and reinforces our sense of belonging. Belonging to a nation has a great influence in adopting, reinforcing or weakening of other identities, such as the social identity. What happens when any one of it is lost? Perhaps these could feel like they are of little concern because it’s government’s call or you’re certain that these won’t happen. Yes, we could say it’s the government’s call but still, no one is ever certain of the future. This is something that does not just affect the LGBTQIA community. It affects all of us. It affects every realm of our life – our social networks, religion, jobs, education. It poses a threat to the wellbeing of the country – the identities and communities that make Brunei what it is today. Today, all we can do is perform our part as active agents of our communities and of the larger societal whole to mediate the impending consequences, to protect the society we inevitably embody, construct, live and breathe in. I urge you to stand with displaced and marginalised communities arising from the legislation. Every voice, every being present, matters.
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use it This is a call to action –– to act collectively and to act fast. Share this with a family member or a friend, share and follow our Instagram page, ignite a conversation, join a debate, start a petition, find your community, find what grounds you, stay united, stay rooted.
Each time you pass this zine on, write the name of the person receiving it in this massive ghost. let’s fill the ghost up!
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