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Saturday, October 18, 2014

JAWI impatient to punish Kassim Ahmad

by V.Anbalagan, Assistant News Editor, The Malaysian Insider
Activist Kassim Ahmad’s trial in a shariah court on Monday (October 19, 2014) for insulting Islam and defying the religious authorities will proceed as scheduled.
Rosli Dahlan (new)Counsel Rosli Dahlan said the Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed his client’s application for an interim stay of the case pending the outcome of an ongoing judicial review.
Judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad said there were no exceptional circumstances to allow the application sought by Kassim. “Civil courts cannot interfere with Shariah Court proceedings although there is a pending judicial review,” she said.
In an immediate response, Kassim said he would attend court in Putrajaya on Monday to defend himself. The 81-year-old said he was not afraid of the religious authorities.”I will make the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) regret what they have done to me,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
Rosli filed for the stay yesterday after the shariah court insisted on proceeding with Kassim’s case despite the High Court having fixed November 17 to hear the judicial review. The counsel said he was informed by a religious court official in Putrajaya on Wednesday that the Federal Territories shariah chief prosecutor and Jawi were not agreeable to an adjournment.
“The irony is that the shariah chief prosecutor and Jawi are parties to the judicial review filed by my client. I am dumbfounded why the religious court wants the matter to go on, based on the insistence of interested parties,” he had told The Malaysian Insider.
On July 24, the Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the judicial review application to challenge the shariah prosecutor’s decision to charge him.
Rosli said following the Court of Appeal’s ruling, religious authorities and the government had asked for some time to file their court papers before the High Court could hear the merit of the case.
A three-man Court of Appeal bench, chaired by Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi, in allowing Kassim’s appeal, had said the conduct of the chief prosecutor and Jawi could be scrutinised.
On July 14,Jjudge Datuk Zaleha Yusof allowed the Attorney-General’s preliminary objection against the judicial review, citing that the subject matter was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the religious court. However, Balia said a shariah criminal matter did not come within the meaning under the Federal Constitution.
“Shariah offence is only an offence against the precept of Islam,” he had said, adding that the bench was bound by a 1988 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Mamat Daud vs public prosecutor.
The bench chaired by the then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas said all offences created under state shariah enactments were for violation against precepts of Islam.
The offences include consumption of alcohol, eating and drinking in public during day time in the fasting month, and going against a fatwa by religious authorities.”It (Kassim’s) is not a criminal matter and therefore subject to judicial review,” Balia added.
Kassim had filed a leave application for judicial review on June 26 and named Minister in the PrimeKassim Ahmad Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, the chief prosecutor, Jawi and the government as respondents.
He is seeking, among others, an order to strike out the chief prosecutor’s decision on March 27 to prosecute him for allegedly insulting Islam and defying the religious authorities.
He wanted his case in the Shariah Court to be suspended, pending the decision of the judicial review.Kassim also wanted all actions and decisions by Jawi enforcement officers who raided and seized his publication materials, as well as detaining him from Kedah to the Federal Territories, to be revoked.
He sought a declaration that the action by the Jawi officers and the prosecution against him was ultra vires and contravened the provisions in the Federal Constitution, Federal Territories Shariah Acts and Kedah Shariah Enactments. Kassim also sought a declaration that the offence of violating a fatwa (edict) issued in the Federal Territories only applied to Muslims in that locality.

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