KUCHING, Sept 26: Five groups led by the Global Human Rights Federation have expressed their deep dissatisfaction and disappointment with the decision handed down by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, denying them the opportunity to seek a judicial review over the failure of law enforcement agencies to take action against a controversial Muslim preacher Syakir Nasoha for alleged inflammatory remarks against other religions.
The applicants had sought an order of certiorari to nullify the decisions of both the police and the Attorney General (AG), who they claim had refused to pursue any action against Syakir for the remarks he made at a mosque in Bakar Arang in Sungai Petani, Kedah, on Dec 16, 2017.
These alleged remarks were captured in a video that went viral on social media back in 2017, with another version posted on YouTube three years ago.
The leave application was filed by Global Human Rights Federation president S Shashi Kumar and deputy president Peter John Jaban, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) president Bobby William, Sarawak Association for People’s Aspiration (SAPA) president Dominique Ng Kim Ho, Ex-Students of Chinese Schools vice-president Chan Tuck Loong and Pertubuhan Malaysia Tamilar Munnetra Kalagam president K Sri Ramesh.
In today’s judgment, delivered via a Zoom meeting, Justice Ahmad Kamal Shahid ruled that the applicants failed to present substantial evidence that the AG had acted in bad faith when deciding on “no further action” (NFA) in this matter.
He added that after reviewing the entire video, there was no evidence of sensitivity toward religious issues and emphasised that the video had been edited. Thus, it did not provide sufficient proof to meet the high threshold required, especially through the mere submission of police reports and edited videos.
In a joint statement today, spokesperson Peter John said the groups will be instructing their lawyers to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal soon.
“The lead counsel argued that the transcript of the recording on allegedly offensive remarks made by the preacher, which was produced in court, clearly showed seditious tendency,” he said.
Peter John claimed that this was not an isolated case, as similar reports lodged against those insulting and making defamatory speeches and statements about non-Islamic religions had previously been classified as NFA (no further action).
Furthermore, Peter John pointed out that the Federation, which is supported by 62 other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya on March 10 of this year, but their efforts had yielded no results.
The groups are being represented by Keshvinjeet Singh and Uma Gunaseelan of Messrs Gunaseelan and Associates. — DayakDaily
