Sivarasa denies speech at mosque was political

PETALING JAYA: Subang MP R. Sivarasa has denied making any political speech during an event in a mosque last Wednesday, which had recently sparked controversy with the Selangor religious body and the palace.
Clarifying the matter, the PKR lawmaker said his presence at Surau An-Nur in Kampung Melayu Subang was to hand out a contribution of RM71,000, which was to be distributed to other suraus and mosques.
Sivarasa said he had made a brief speech, giving a Ramadan message to those attending the event, as well as stressing his confidence in the state government's commitment to continue to support suraus and mosques.
"I did not give any ceramah. This is a misunderstanding," he said, adding that he had also shared his experience visiting suraus and mosques in Subang since he was elected as MP for the constituency.
"There were no political or religious talk made during the event," Sivarasa told theSun.
The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had expressed his disappointment with Sivarasa for allegedly smearing the sanctity of the mosque when he was said to had delivered a political talk.
Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) director Datuk Haris Kasim said Jais had called the An-Nur Mosque administrator last Friday to explain about the incident and to submit a report to His Majesty.
He said after studying the report, the Sultan described the action of the mosque administrator and the organiser of the talk, as disrespectful of his decree against using mosque for any political activities.
The Subang MP was reported to have entered the mosque and attended the event on behalf of Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali before he allegedly proceeded to deliver a political talk in the praying area.
SIvarasa however clarified that he did not attend the event on behalf of Mohamed Azmin as reported.
"I was there as a Subang MP that was elected by the majority of muslim and non-muslim voters," he said.
Asked whether he had contacted the state religious body to clarify the matter, Sivarasa said: "No, because Jais has not contacted me".
Haris, when contacted by theSun, stressed that politicians were forbidden to make any speech at the prayer hall of a mosque, based on a decree by the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
"It does not matter whether the speech was political or not. The Sultan has clearly decreed previously not to use mosques for politics," he said.
He added the presence of politicians giving a speech at a mosque could cause dissatisfaction among certain groups and could cause division among muslims.
Haris said the action of Sivarasa to deliver a speech inside the mosque could be seen as if he was challenging the authority of the Sultan.
Asked whether Jais could take any action against Sivarasa, Haris said the religious authority had no power to do so.
"Action could be taken against the mosque's administration … we will also contact Sivarasa to clarify the matter," he said.