Bobby William
MIRI (Feb 12): Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) has accused the Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak (Jais) of abusing its power and breached its jurisdiction relating to their raids on several premises including hotels and number forecast operators (NFOs) around Bintulu city on Feb 10.
Its president Bobby William expressed concern over Ops Zolam and Ops Maiseer operations carried out by Jais in collaboration with the police (PDRM) and the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) as posted on the PDRM Bintulu’s Facebook page.
“While PBDSB welcome and applaud the move by Jais and PDRM in their efforts to check on gambling and vice activities by Muslims in the state, the party is concerned that such enforcement activities by these guardians of Muslim morals and assisted by the police may disturb the peace and privacy of non-Muslims and thus encroaching into the privacy of non-Muslims hotel guests.
“What Jais deems the right thing to do, is an outright infringement on the privacy of the non-Muslims.
“For one thing, how do they, in the first place, know the couples and individuals are Muslim, without those being approached and then are compelled to produce their identity documents?” he said in a statement.
“PBDSB wants to make sure Jais does not abuse its power by purposely encroaching into the non-Muslim territory or rights.
“Like any other government agencies, Jais must abide by strict rules, disciplines, procedures and standard operating procedures. Do not simply conduct raids into hotel rooms that are being patronised by non Muslims,” he added.
Bobby pointed out that it must be made clear to the moral police that non-Muslims are out of bounds to Jais and shariah laws.
“Jais can be sued by aggrieved non-Muslims if they abused and breached their jurisdiction.
“PBDSB wants to send a clear message here – there is no need to Talibanised this state.
“PBDSB also hopes that such actions are not in any way a means to intimidate non-Muslims for not complying with Shariah and a psychological warfare to weaken non-Muslims’ resistance to Islamic intrusion into public space,” he said.
PBDSB believed that it will be interesting if there is any entity who will dare to challenge legality of the raid in court, on the grounds that Jais infringe on non-Muslim rights, said Bobby.
“PBDSB suggests that Jais and the police do random checks on those ‘Mat Rempits’ who make so much nuisance racing around and making so much disturbances. PBDSB is pretty sure there are drug addicts among them.
“And unfortunately most of these ‘Mat Rempits’ are from the Malay kampongs. Youths of both females and males freely mingling around. Why hotels and such private places where distant travellers are resting?”
“PBDSB would also like to suggest that in order to prevent unmarried couples from entering hotel premises and lodging houses, signage that reads “No entry for unmarried Muslim couples into this hotel or lodging house’ should be hung in the hotel lobby visible to all.
“For married Muslim couples, they are to produce their marriage certificates if they wish to register as guests of the hotel. This is in compliance with the shariah laws.
“Do not make life difficult for non-Muslims in a secular state like Sarawak that does not have any official religion, least of all Islam,” added Bobby.