KUCHING: The state government has decided against giving the green light to ‘Program Ziarah Dakwah Mahabbah & Amal Kebajikan’ organised by Yayasan Amal Malaysia (Sarawak branch) in Punan Bah, Belaga slated for Oct 15 to 19.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman in a statement here yesterday said the decision was reached after taking all considerations following concerns raised over such event.
“It is to be informed that Sarawak Islamic Affairs Department, through agreement from Sarawak Islamic Council, has decided not to give consent to the programme (by Yayasan Amal Malaysia, Sarawak Branch) due to certain reasons.
“This is in line with the powers of the Sarawak Islamic Council as provided in Section 58(1) of the Sarawak Islamic Council Ordinance 2001 and Section 11 of the Sarawak Syariah Criminal Offence Ordinance 2001,” he said in the statement.
According to the Section 58(1) of Sarawak Islamic Council Ordinance 2001, any activities to propagate Islam to the public cannot be conducted without written approval from the council. (Tiada orang boleh mengajar atau mengembangkan atau memperjelaskan kepada orang ramai apa-apa doktrin tentang Agama Islam di dalam Negeri tanpa kelulusan bertulis Majlis).
It was reported yesterday that Christians in Belaga have complained of attempts by a group of outsiders to convert them to Islam by allegedly offering RM6,000 to each person.
The activities and movement of this group are said to have gone viral on Facebook and Whatsapp.