Call on Selangor Mentri Besar to take stern action against Jais officers for breaching SOP

Press Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Thursday, June 05, 2014

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Call on Selangor Mentri Besar to take stern action against Jais officers for breaching SOP

Yesterday, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim described the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department’s (Jais) disruption of a Hindu wedding as an embarrassment to the state government and said that the state executive council had thoroughly discussed the matter and Jais had said it was willing to assist Zarena Abdul Majid in dealing with the National Registration Department. 

Jais’s action in snatching  Zarena Abdul Majid midway through her wedding rituals at a Hindu temple in Shah Alam on Sunday is most insensitive , high handed and totally unacceptable.

It is therefore insufficient for Tan Sri Khalid Khalid just to give Jais a stern warning and instruct it to follow standard operating procedures (SOP) when conducting raids.

“Among the SOP requirements is for Jais to confer with the mentri besar and state exco first in matters concerning other religions and races, all Jais officers will have to adhere to this and action will be taken against officers who don’t,” Kahlid was quoted in today’s media.

It is obvious that Jais has breached the SOP, but why is Khalid being lenient with Jais again?

Jais had caused public outrage early this year when it conducted the shocking, illegal and high handed raid against the Bible Society of Malaysia premises, in total disregard of the Cabinet‘s 10 point solution to address Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia Bible and other related issues.

What was equally shocking then was the pathetic explanation given by Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad as the Jais director to Sallehan Mukhyi who is the officer in charge of religion in Selangor—that Jais forgot to inform the Selangor state government!

It is obvious that Jais has breached the SOP again in the raid against the wedding, so why is Khalid being lenient with Jais again?

There could be no excuse for Jais’s breaching the SOP again and I call on Tan Sri Kahlid to show his political courage and take stern action against the Jais officers.

Zarena’s plight has again highlighted the urgent need for the Federal government to address and resolve the issue of unilateral conversion.  

Zarena has claimed that she and her siblings were secretly converted by her Muslim convert father when they were children.

The Cabinet must not delay in making the necessary law changes to put into real effect the April 2009 Cabinet decision banning unilateral conversions of minors.