The Malaysian Bar - Sultan: No prosecution on JAIS raid (Update)

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Sultan: No prosecution on JAIS raid (Update)

Tuesday, 11 October 2011 09:49am

©The Sun Daily (Used by permission)
by Alyaa Alhadjri

PETALING JAYA (Oct 10, 2011): No prosecution shall be made over parties involved in the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) Aug 3 raid on a fund raising dinner organised by NGO Harapan Komuniti at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church complex.

The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah in statement today said the decision was made after careful consideration of the JAIS report, as well as consultation with religious authorities and legal experts.

"Based on JAIS' investigations, there is evidence that there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims, but the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken," said the Selangor ruler.

He also commanded that JAIS provide counselling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in Islam.

"We hope that after this, any activities being carried out, or which are going to be carried out for the purposes of spreading other religions to Muslims in Selangor is ceased immediately.

"No further activities or anything similar to them are (to be) carried out in the future," the statement said.

He added, JAIS together with the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) must continue monitoring the situation and take necessary actions without hesitation in line with the jurisdiction allowed under the law.

Meanwhile, in an immediate response, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the state government will respect the Sultan's decision on the matter.

"The state government believes that the Selangor ruler has made the best and most fair decision, in the spirit of maintaining racial and religious harmony.

"As a Selangor citizen, we must all accept the Sultan's decision with an open heart and in a positive manner," said Abdul Khalid in a statement, adding the incident has also highlighted the need to strengthen JAIS enforcement powers, as well as its evidence gathering techniques.

As such, Abdul Khalid said the state government will be setting up set up a special committee to strengthen JAIS' standard operating procedure.

He said the committee will consist legal and religious experts, as well as senior state officers, whose names will be revealed at a later date.

"This is so the department can monitor attempts to sway the beliefs of Muslims in a more effective manner," he said.

The Sultan's statement is expected to put an end to heated debates surrounding incidents which took place during the controversial raid, largely revolving around allegations that Christians were proselytising to Muslim guests at the dinner.

Selangor exco for Islamic Affairs Datuk Hasan Ali had reportedly said that the words "Quran" and "pray" were used in the presence of Muslims at the dinner function, claiming that this was part of JAIS' evidence to justify conducting the raid.

Abdul Khalid together with Selangor Mufti Datuk Mohd. Tamyes Abdul Wahid and deputy Mufti Datuk Abdul Majid Omar who formed a 'hearing committee' had also met with officers from JAIS and Harapan Komuniti to hear both sides of the story.

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