KUALA LUMPUR: The former model set to be caned for drinking a beer has lost her job and her husband. Now, she just wants to take her punishment and move on.
'My life is almost destroyed, and I just want to start all over again,' Ms Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, told The Straits Times.
'I wish to go to Mecca to perform my umrah (pilgrimage), and go back to modelling as I am into Islamic fashion.'
The Malaysian from Perak made international headlines when she was ordered to be caned six times and fined RM5,000 (S$2,060) in July last year for drinking alcohol in public.
She would be the first woman caned in Malaysia under Islamic law. The punishment is enforced only in Pahang, Kelantan and Perlis. Civil law does not allow caning for women.
The Pahang Syariah High Court abruptly postponed her caning in August until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The religious authorities there upheld her caning sentence in September, but did not set a date for it to be carried out.
So her life has been put on hold as she awaits the final word from the court, Ms Kartika said in an exclusive phone interview on Thursday.
Even though she is free to leave Malaysia, Ms Kartika decided to stay put because she does not want to give the impression that she is running away from the punishment.
'So, I will wait patiently until the punishment is over, but I hope it will be soon,' she told The Straits Times.
The court's caning order has caused serious damage to Malaysia's international image as a moderate Muslim country. But some Muslim groups have backed the sentence and asked critics not to interfere with laws meant for Muslims.
There have been other cases of Muslims, including women, who were caught drinking, but almost all of them pleaded not guilty and appealed against their sentences.
Ms Kartika was among the few who pleaded guilty, and insisted on not appealing against the sentence despite the advice of government officials, including senior ministers. She said she was willing to accept the punishment to show her respect for the religion and the law.
Her lawyer Adham Ibrahim said he had been in touch with the authorities to speed up the punishment. But the Pahang palace was also concerned about the unique case, which was widely reported by the international media, he said.
In the meantime, the wait continues.
Ms Kartika went through another painful episode this week when her marriage to Singaporean Mohamad Affandi Amir, 38, ended in divorce. The couple, who were married for 13 years, formally split on Wednesday. She now lives with her parents in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
Ms Kartika confessed that her marriage had been rocky even before her arrest for drinking. But the episode had taken a further toll on their relationship, she said.
Her husband had been supportive, she stressed. But she had failed to 'be a good wife' since her case went to trial as she was always in Malaysia, and he was left alone in Singapore.
'He felt the pressure too, and we are both very sad that things have to turn out this way. But I guess it is for the better since I don't want to see him suffer any more,' she said, her voice filled with sadness. 'I still love him, but it will be difficult for me to accept him back now because I haven't been kind to him.'
But she is grateful that he gave her custody of their two children.
For now, Ms Kartika is focusing on writing a book about her trials and tribulations. She said she started to pen her thoughts after her sentencing, and plans to publish it someday.
'I am focusing on my book now,' she said. 'It is about my daily life, my feelings, my thoughts and the challenges that I have had to go through every day since my case started.'
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This article was first published in The Straits Times.
