PAS Youth today lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) over alleged trespass and demolition of the Surau Jubli Perak in Bandar Baru Bangi, Kajang.

The movement's legal and human rights section head Ahmad Sabki Yusof (photo, left) and five other members submitted two memoranda o­n the demolition itself and o­n the arrest of lawyer Ahmad Khairuddin Othman to Suhakam's complaints and inquiry working group chairperson Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan (photo, right) in Kuala Lumpur.

Ahmad Sabki claimed that the constitutional rights of worshippers to practise their religion freely had been violated yesterday by the Selangor Religious Department (Jais), with the assistance of the Kajang Municipal Council enforcement division, the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and the police.

Ahmad Sabki alleged the team took down the partitions built to house the surau at the parking lot of the PKNS flats. However, Jais claims it o­nly 'sealed' the surau to prevent the structure from being used.

"It is regrettable that such a thing has happened in a country which is said to be Islamic," Ahmad Sabki said in a three-page memorandum.

"In fact, the religious department has no jurisdiction to seal the premises or order the demolition of the surau, especially since the place was gazetted by the state government for Friday prayers in 1990."

'No power'

Ahmad Sabki, who claimed that 100 enforcement officers were involved, said the state syariah enactment does not empower Jais to demolish a surau.

"Even the district kadi was present at yesterday's incident!" he exclaimed. Jais enforcement assistant director Shahzihan Ahmad is believed to have led the team.

Another reason for the action was attributed to the fact that the sermon text prepared by Jais was not used. Instead, PAS speakers were brought in o­n Fridays and to conduct other prayers.

Ahmad Sabki said the department had violated the people's right to worship freely at the surau and for not giving prior warning or notice to the surau committee, except for a letter sent last month asking that the surau be closed o­n three grounds.

"The department said the surau should be closed because there was a new mosque nearby, and that the surau was in the way. They also said the structure was close to a sewerage pipe," Ahmad Sabki said.

"As far as we know, there have not been any complaints over the surau and people have been praying there for more than 10 years. In fact, it has been attracting an average of 2,000 worshippers o­n Fridays, and about 30 or 40 people daily."

The new mosque is located about 5km away, which inconveniences the occupants of 13 blocks of the five-storey PKNS flats.

Lawyer arrested

On the arrest of Ahmad Khairuddin, who is also the Hulu Langat PAS Youth chief, Ahmad Sabki said it was unjustified as he was o­nly doing his job as a lawyer. As such, the arrest was in violation of his basic rights and a clear breach of the practice and etiquette rules under the Legal Profession Act 1976.

Ahmad Sabki said police claimed that the lawyer was obstructing the lawful discharge of duties by public officials.

He said that as a Malaysian Bar member, Ahmad Khairuddin had a duty to achieve the objective stipulated under the Act "to uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interests or that of its members, uninfluenced by fear or favour".

"As such, the PAS Youth movement urges Suhakam to investigate into the actions which infringe the Malaysian constitution."

Ahmad Sabki said there are plans to lodge a complaint with the Bar Council over the lawyer's arrest.

In response, Hamdan said the commission would raise the issue with the authorities involved.

He said the act could also be seen as a "violation of the right to political freedom" and "misuse of government machinery" for political interests.

"We have to investigate the violation of religious freedom. It is also regrettable if government machinery is used to demolish any place of worship," he said, citing similar attempts and actions against churches and Hindu temples particularly in Selangor.

'No comment'

When contacted, Jais public relations officer Fakhrul Azam said: "We have our basis for taking action and we will stand by it. I think enough has been said about the matter, so let it rest."

Asked for the basis of action, he said: "It is better for the issue to end here. The deed is done and we don't want to entertain any questions right now because we don't want the matter to be prolonged. The parties concerned can say anything they want because it is their right to raise questions."

At the same time, Fakhrul stressed that it was "definitely not an easy decision to make" and that the department hoped similar incidents would not recur anywhere else.

Relating the incident, he said about 50 officers had gone to the surau, located in the parking lot of Block A4 of the flats, at about 4pm before removing the carpets to prevent the place from being used as a surau, and 'sealing' the premises.

"Before the surau's existence, residents had prayed at the mosque in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. But a new mosque with a capacity of 5,000 has been built about 2km away from the flats, and it's usually empty," he said.

Asked whether Jais was empowered to seal gazetted premises, he said there were provisions under Selangor's syariah enactment for this, but he declined to elaborate.