by Maria Begum
Christian groups expressed disappointment over the decision
to not punish any group over the JAIS-DUMC fiasco which erupted last month. The
incident had sparked an outcry that the Umno-controlled Selangor islamic
Religious Affairs Department was again trying to stir up trouble in the Pakatan
Rakyat-led state and using Christians as the battering ram.
JAIS officers, without any search warrant, had raided a
charity dinner held at a building belonging to the Damansara Utama Methodist
Church on August 3. They then proceeded to take videos and photos, grilling
guests who were attending a fund-raiser organised by AIDS charity group Harapan
Kommuniti and later pulled up 12 Muslim guests on suspicison that they were
apostate or were being proselytized by the Christians at the dinner.
The 12 were subsequently hauled up to the Syariah Court in
super-quick time, again raising eyebrows that powerful hands wanted to defend
the JAIS move, which had angered Malaysians because of its bullying ways and
disregard for the law in carrying its out duties.
"The decision is
disappointing and can have far-reaching implications for law and order and the
sanctity of the Constitution of the country. Imagine foreign investors looking
at cases like these will be wonding if their investments will be abused in
circumstances where there are clear provisions to protect them but the laws are
ignored for political purposes," Ramon Navaratnam, a lay Christian leader
and past president of Transparency International, told Malaysia
Chronicle.
Sultan clearly on the side of
JAIS
After a long-drawn out with JAIS refusing to make public
their report on the incident, the Sultan of Selangor on Monday ruled that no
group should be prosecuted over the controversial raid. Sultan Sharafuddin
Idris Shah also commanded JAIS to provide counselling to the Muslims who were
present during the dinner which was organised by a non-governmental
organisation.
His statement clearly sided JAIS, while which it comes under
the Selangor administration is run by many religious officials with ties to
Umno. In fact, its previous director Khusrin Munawi was earlier this promoted
to State Secretary amid huge protests from the Pakatan state government led by
Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.
The Sultan made no mention of DUMC and the alleged illeaglity
of the raid, which was conducted without any warrent.
"Based on the investigations by Jais, there is evidence
that there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that
the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be
taken. Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by Jais and after
obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, We are in
agreement that there would be no prosecution against any parties," said
the Sultan in a statement.
"Even so, We command that Jais provide counselling to
Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith
in the Religion of Islam. We also command Jais to carry out preaching to
Muslims in a more regular and organised manner so that their belief and faith
towards Islam is protected and enhanced. We hope that after this, any and all
activities being carried out or which are going to be carried out for the
purposes of spreading other religions to Muslims in Selangor must be ceased
immediately and no further activities or anything similar to them are carried
out in the future."
Seeing
through Umno
To add salt to the injury felt by the aggrieved Christians,
the Sultan also said he was "gravely concerned and extremely offended by
the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims in
the State of Selangor." He commanded the Majlis Agama Islam Selangor
(MAIS) and JAIS to continue to "always conduct thorough observations and
to take necessary actions without hesitation in line with the jurisdiction
allowed under the law."
Some pundits believed the move to further embolden JAIS and
MAIS a ploy to rally Muslims to Umno and make the Christians angry with MB
Khalid for being unable to countermand the Sultan's ruling.
However, Christians said they could see through the
machinations after similar attempts to roil the Penang state government and put
the blame squarely on Umno.
"Umno has always used and abused the Royalty for their
purposes. We saw the case of the Christians pastors and Christian prime
minister stirred up by Utusan newspaper and yet no action was taken. So this
latest is just another of the black marks that we as Christians will tally to
Umno's credit. We will certainly continue to pray for a more enlightened and
equitable society," Anthony Chong, a senior parishioner in the SFX
community in PJ.
Malaysia Chronicle appends below the full text of the Sultan's
statement:
We, the Head of the Religion of Islam in the State of
Selangor, take great concern over the actions by the Enforcement Division of
the Selangor Department of the Religion of Islam (Jais) which carried out a
search at the Thanksgiving Dinner event which was held at Hall 3, Dream Centre
Complex, Section 13, Petaling Jaya on Aug 3, 2011.
We hope that the people of Selangor, regardless of race and
religion, do not misconstrue and dispute the actions of Jais before knowing
exactly the true facts of the actions taken.
As the State Department responsible for the enforcement of
Islamic Laws in the State, Jais has the heavy task of ensuring that the
Religion of Islam in Selangor is always protected and given prestige, in line
with its position as the Religion of the State of Selangor under Article XLVII
of the Laws of the Constitution of Selangor, 1959, as well as the religion of
the Federation under Clause (1) Article 3 of the Federal Constitution.
Jais has submitted to Us the full report of the search
carried out at the Dream Centre Complex, Section 13, Petaling Jaya as well as
the subsequent actions taken by Jais. We have thoroughly read in detail the
said report and We are satisfied that the actions of Jais were correct and did
not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor.
The actions of Jais are in line with the jurisdiction
provided under Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment, 2003,
Syariah Criminal (State of Selangor) Enactment, 1995 and Selangor Non-Islamic
Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment, 1988.
The Religion of Islam as practiced in Selangor is one of
tolerance. Muslims are always encouraged to respect the believers of other
religions. However, persons or parties cannot take the opportunity to spread
other religions to Muslims. This is in line with Clause (1) and (4) Article 11
of the Federal Constitution and Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of
Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment, 1988, which prohibits the spread of
other religions to Muslims.
Article XLVII of the Laws of the Constitution of Selangor
1959, Clause (1) Article 3 and Clause (1) Article 11 of the Federal
Constitution have given the freedom to believers of other religions to practice
their beliefs in peace and harmony. This freedom has been practised in harmony
in this State. We wish that this harmony, which has existed for a long time,
will continue to exist. Protect your rights and religion and do not attempt to
subvert the belief and faith of Muslims.
Based on the investigations by Jais, there is evidence that
there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that the
evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken.
Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by Jais and after obtaining
advice from religious authorities and legal experts, We are in agreement that
there would be no prosecution against any parties.
Even so, We command that Jais provide counselling to Muslims
who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the
Religion of Islam. We also command Jais to carry out preaching to Muslims in a
more regular and organised manner so that their belief and faith towards Islam
is protected and enhanced.
We hope that after this, any and all activities being carried
out or which are going to be carried out for the purposes of spreading other
religions to Muslims in Selangor must be ceased immediately and no further
activities or anything similar to them are carried out in the future.
We, the Head of the Religion of Islam in the State of
Selangor, are gravely concerned and extremely offended by the attempts of
certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims in the State of
Selangor. We command that Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (Mais) and Jais always
conduct thorough observations and to take necessary actions without hesitation
in line with the jurisdiction allowed under the law.
We also wish to take this opportunity to thank all parties
who were concerned with this issue and to those who have given their cooperation
and undivided support to Jais.
H.R.H. Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj
The Sultan of Selangor
The Sultan of Selangor
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Source : MC
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