Asri blasts court over ‘tauliah’ charge
(Malaysian Mirror) – Former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin pleaded not guilty in the Gombak Timur Syariah Court here on Wednesday to a charge of delivering a religious talk without a certification of authority.
Mohd Asri, 38, is charged with committing the offence at a house in Taman Sri Ukay, Ampang, at between 8.10pm and 9.45pm on Nov 1.
The charge, under Section 119(1) of the Selangor Islamic Religious Administration Enactment 2003, carries a jail sentence of up to two years or a fine of up to RM3,000 or both upon conviction.
Lawyer Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman, representing Mohd Asri, objected to the charge saying that it was vague because although it mentioned ‘conducting a lecture without a certification of authority’, it did not state in detail the actual scope of the certification.
“I ask that the prosecution narrow down the scope of the charge as it will give rise to various interpretations.”
The prosecution is carried out by Selang
or Syarie chief prosecutor Abdul Shukor Abdul Hamid.
Jan 5 date for trial
He applied for the case to be transferred to the Syariah High Court on the grounds that the facts of the case needed a more accurate application and interpretation of the law, apart from the wide media coverage it received and the fact that the accused is an influential person.
“We filed an affidavit on Nov 12 to apply for the transfer of the case,” he said.
The court fixed Jan 5 for the trial
Kamar Ainiah said the affidavit on Nov 12 to transfer the case to the High Court was, in fact, beyond the scope of the charge and was not in accordance with the format under which the issue should be dealt with.
She contended that the prosecution’s application appeared to be in contempt of court for suggesting that the court and the judge were not qualified to handle the case.
“If this is allowed, out client would be deprived of his rights to appeal to the Syariah High Court and Syariah Appeal Court,” she said.
Kamar Ainiah also argued that the prosecution’s statement that the accused is an influential person is not relevant to the case.Syarie Judge Wan Mahyuddin Wan Muhammad rejected the application on grounds that it could only be allowed if the prosecution could justify the reason.
He also said that the court felt that the case should be expedited.
Power to hear the case
“If the application is allowed, it will cause postponements and this will cause prejudice to the accused and subjudice to the court as the matter would have been reported in the media.
“There have been many similar cases handled by the lower Syariah Court without any problem; the court therefore feels that it has the power to hear the case,” he said.
He later ordered Asri to be freed on a bail bond of RM3,000 with two sureties and fixed Jan 5 for the trial.
Mohd Md Sadik and Mohd Ismail Mirasa posted the bond.
Outside the court, another of Asri’s lawyers, Jamal Mohd Lokman, told reporters that the charges were vague.
Bad image to the judiciary
“There is nothing specific about it. We pressed further, but we were told that the charges were generally about carrying out activities that were detrimental to Islam,” he said.
“If you accuse someone of something, you have to be specific. I suspect they were rushed and as a result they do not know what to
charge him (Asri) with,” he added.
Asri said he does not expect a postponement for the trial date.
“They said it is because I’m a very public figure so the case has been transferred to Shah Alam [High Court]. I don’t understand this reason,” he said, adding that it gives a bad image to the judicial system.
“It will cause public prejudice against the fairness of the courts. I think this issue of tauliah will be a great hinderance to the right of Malaysians to express their opinions and so forth,” said Asri, adding that he was disappointed with the actions of the Selangor religious authorities.
