KHALWAT RAID: Residents’ group stays defiant
RA chairman defends his ‘investigative’ effort, blames Jais for inaction
“We did not hand them to the police because they pleaded with us not to do so, to avoid paying the RM3,000 fine, as stipulated in the Syariah law. So we only advised them of their wrongdoing.”
NAJIAH NAJIB, Malay Mail
LESTARI Apartment Residents’ Association chairman Mohd Yusuf Abdullah insists he did nothing wrong in carrying out an “investigation” into khalwat (close proximity) activities.
He said as a community leader, he felt it was his duty to ensure such activities did not occur in Prima Damansara.
“In fact, the responsibility to curb khalwat should be borne by the community as it affects us all.
“Jais (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) may not have been aware of this particular case, but it does not mean that we did not carry out the investigation in the correct manner,” Mohd Yusuf told Malay Mail yesterday.
He said the investigation that took place at an apartment unit in Block F of Indah Condominium last Saturday morning was done with the consent of the local mosque and in accordance with Syariah law.
He also said no assault took place, as claimed by one of the guests at the condo.
“The law states that to investigate such cases, the raiding party must comprise at least four male Muslims of mature age (not children) who have a clear conscience and are not mentally handicapped in any way.
“There was also an official from the local mosque, Raja Shaharin Sahar, in the raiding party, but of course the
tenants of that apartment didn’t know who he was,” said Mohd Yusuf.
Another reason why he claimed responsibility for carrying out investigations on khalwat in the area was because Jais did not.
He said in the past, the RA had forwarded numerous complaints to Jais about khalwat activities but the complaints always fell on deaf ears.
“Whenever we call Jais, it never comes. I’m very disappointed with the department because it seems to
take such cases lightly. Jais have been entrusted with this duty but why is it not solving all these problems?
“We need the cooperation of Jais greatly but it is not giving it to us,” Mohd Yusuf said.
He also said the reason he brought the four khalwat suspects, all in their 20s, to the operations room at Lestari Apartment was because Indah Condominium does not have one.
At the operations room, the four were only advised of their wrongdoing, said Mohd Yusuf, who also claimed all had admitted guilt.
“We did not hand them to the police because they pleaded with us not to do so, to avoid paying the RM3,000 fine, as stipulated in the Syariah law. So we only advised them of their wrongdoing.”
He said previously, the RA used to receive complaints of khalwat cases on a daily basis. But ever since the RA began “educating” the public via such investigations, the number had dropped significantly, with a current average of only two a month.
On Monday, we reported that several visitors and tenants of Indah Condominium in Prima Damansara cried foul when their unit was raided for khalwat by the RA.
One of the visitors to the said unit, Aqmal (not his real name), claimed he was assaulted by two of the men
from the raiding party after he rudely replied to one of their comments. Yesterday, Jais director Datuk Mohamed Khusrin Munawi said the RA had no right to conduct the raid as Jais does not give consent to members of the public to conduct raids on others.
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Cops begin probe into alleged assault
POLICE have begun investigations into the alleged assault of a man by members of the Lestari Apartment Residents’ Assocation during an illegal khalwat (close proximity) raid on his friend’s house in Indah Condominium, Prima Damansara, on Sunday.
The man claimed he was punched three times by two men. Petaling Jaya district police chief ACP Arjunaidi Mohamed (pic) said the case was being investigated under two sections.
“One is for criminal trespass and the other for causing injuries without a dangerous weapon,” Arjunaidi said.
He said police had called people involved in the alleged incident to have their statements recorded.
“We have recorded several statements from those said to be involved in the raid to assist in our investigations.
“We need to gather all the necessary information to get a clearer picture of what actually happened that night before taking any action.”
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NGOs lambast RA for illegal raid
THE illegal khalwat (close proximity) raid conducted by Lestari Apartment Residents’ Association (RA) on an apartment unit in Indah Condominium has been lambasted by several non-governmental organisations.
Maria Chin Abdullah (pic) of Women’s Development Collective said the RA had neither legal right nor power to conduct such a raid on members of the public.
“Residents’ associations are merely a society group with no legal power to carry out such investigations.
They have no right to do such a thing. There are many other ways for RAs to be proactive, such as keeping watch on criminal activities in the area. But in the case of moral policing, they should leave that to the designated authorities,” she said last night.
Maria said what the RA did at the unit in Block F of Indah Condominium was an outright invasion of privacy.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said there will be pandemonium if the public starts to take matters into their hands, like what the Lestari Apartment RA did.
“There are boundaries to what an association, like an RA, can do. In this case, this RA stepped over that boundary,” Siva said.
“If the RA feels like something should be done about the khalwat activities, it should report to the relevant authorities, instead of trying to tackle it. RAs are not the police,” he said.
Siva also said the victims of last Saturday’s “operation” have every right to take legal action against the RA.
Human rights NGO Suaram director S. Arutchelvan said RAs should not get themselves involved in “moral policing” — which is a debatable issue.
“Such raids or operations should only be conducted by the respective authorities,” said Arutchelvan.
“Even then, the authorities must conduct it in a proper manner.” Arutchelvan added that that what occurred was a violation of privacy.
