Asri: Damage has been done

FORMER Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin is undecided whether to take legal action against the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) over his arrest.

He wants to discuss the matter with his lawyer first before making any decision.

However, Asri said he will be suing the Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association for allegedly defaming him, claiming that he had tarnished the image of ulamas and Islam.

He said he was disappointed with the arrest and the type of action taken against him.

Stating that the arrest was totally uncalled for, he asked why the arresting officers were not even in court yesterday if he had indeed done something wrong.

Asri, who was present at Lower Syariah Gombak Timur Court, claimed that there were no charges nor any follow-up investigations against him.

“The NGOs and I waited for four hours for clarification on this matter but no one seemed to know anything about it,” he told Malay Mail.

Asked whether he was ready for any discussions with the Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association, as suggested by its president Mohammad Isa Abdul Ralip, he said that such discussions would be futile.

“No, I don’t think so. The harm has been done. So what's the point of it (discussion)?” he said.

Jais director Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi, meanwhile, told a Press conference yesterday that the arrest of Asri was based on the grounds that he (Asri) was not qualified to give talks in the State as he had not followed the procedures set by the Selangor Islamic Department for this.

“We have been following Dr Asri’s activities and even notified him to get the State’s permission but he has not responded to any of our notices,” Mohd Khusrin said.

He said Jais acted against Asri following complaints by residents of Taman Seri Ukay.

He said speakers had to follow several standard procedures such as submitting forms to the religious department and getting the support of the administration office, and an interview for background checks before they could give talks in Selangor.

“Asri is not the only one we have arrested for this offence. In the past two to three years, we have arrested about 10 speakers for giving talks illegally,” he said.

He added the heightened surprise and concern in this case was mainly because Asri is a prominent ulama in the country as well as the former mufti of Perlis.

Mohd Khusrin said Jais had to call the police around midnight due to the large number of ceramah
participants.

He said Asri wasn’t charged yesterday as Jais only wanted to secure a bond for investigations. Any charges arising will be only after investigations.

He denied that there was any outside influence that led to the arrest.

Asri is expected to be charged at the Gombak Timur Lower Syariah Court next Monday.

He will most likely be charged under Section 119 of the Selangor Islamic Administration Enactment for preaching without the State’s permission.

If found guilty, he can be fined not more of RM 3,000 or not less than two years imprisonment or both.