Zaid: No need to charge Khalid, warning would have sufficed

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor Islamic Religious Department's (Jais) decision to charge Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad (pix) for giving a sermon in a surau was high-handed and an abuse of power, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said.
The former law minister said a simple reprimand would have been sufficient without the need to charge the former under Section 119 of the Selangor Islamic Law Administration Enactment.
He reasoned that Khalid's talk on Gaza in the religious premises in 2011 should not have been an offence under the enactment, as it was only meant to punish those who preached religious matters without accreditation.
"Khalid has never been a preacher. He was not preaching. Talking is not necessarily preaching and Gaza is not a religious matter. The decision was rash, high-handed and wrong.
"A wise JAIS would have just reprimanded Khalid by issuing a warning letter, and reminded him that as an MP, he should have obtained their permission before talking on any subject in a mosque.
"Using Section 119 is an abuse of power ... It makes a mockery of the long-held believe that religious institutions are always fair and wise in the exercise of their powers," he said in a blog post today.
Khalid Samad was, on Jan 19, fined RM2,900 in lieu of three months' jail after being found guilty of teaching Islam without credentials over a talk he gave at a surau in Kapar.
The fine meant Khalid would be disqualified as an MP under Article 48 (1)(e) of the Federal Constitution.
"When an MP speaks on a subject, he is not necessarily engaging in political ceramah or preaching. It's stupid to conclude that, just because an MP speaks, he is preaching on a religious matter under Section 119," Zaid said.
He also questioned if Jais was able to confirm that no Umno MP has given a talk on any subject in the premises of a mosque since 2003 and if any of them have been charged under Section 119 as Khalid had.