A three member panel headed by the Selangor Menteri Besar today met both the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and the NGO Harapan Komuniti, which organised of an event at a church which was allegedly raided.

The panel, dubbed the hearing working group, comprise of Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, Selangor Mufti Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid and his deputy.

They are tasked with hearing explanations from both Jais and Harapan Komuniti to “resolve” a row which had erupted out Jais’ presence at Harapan Komuniti’s function at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church on Aug 3.

The menteri besar’s office has refused to comment on the meeting and participants have also remained tight-lipped.

Jais were the first to meet the panel at about 2pm. The four member delegation headed by its director Marzuki Husin and they left about an hour later.

This group refused comment and only returned broad smiles when posed with a barrage of questions from about 40 pressmen.

Muslims among NGO delegation

Following this, the panel met six representatives from Harapan Komuniti which were represented by six people, including two who are believed to be Muslims.

The duo, a male and female, are believed to be among the 12 Muslims summonsed by Jais for questioning and counselling for allegedly planning to abandon their fair.

The woman resembles one of the individuals which appeared in the leaked video of the raid.

Both of them kept mum and avoided press cameras.

Other members of the Harapan Komuniti delegation comprise of two unidentified non-Muslims and their lawyers Kenny Ng and Annou Xavier.

The group left the 22nd floor meeting room where the hearing is conducted at about 4pm.

Report to be sent to Sultan

Although most participants of the meeting kept mum, Ng gave a short statement.

"We are here to cooperate with authorities. It was a good meeting. We trust in the good sense, good will and good faith of the body," he said.

To a question, Ng said he is unsure if there will be future meetings between Harapan Komuniti and the panel.

It is understood that during the hearing, Jais was asked if their actions at the church compound was indeed a raid and whether it was conducted appropriately.

The panel is also believed to have asked the NGO if there was any proselytisation of Muslims associated with the function.

For now, the panel will have to prepare a report which will be sent to the Sultan, who is the head of religion in the state.

Fundraiser or proselytisation exercise?

Harapan Komuniti had said in a press statement that the dinner at a hall in the Damansara Utama Methodist Church compound was to raise finds for the needy, downtrodden, children, women and people living with HIV and AIDS.

It was attended by donors, friends and beneficiaries of the NGO. About 120 people, from various backgrounds, attended the dinner, where the meal was catered by Muslims, followed by live performances, a 1Malaysia dance, a quiz and personal experience sharing by individuals.

However, Jais has denied that it raided the dinner, but merely mounted an 'inspection visit' to question a dozen Muslims who attended the event on suspicion that they were being proselytised.

On Monday, the Selangor state government announced that it would set up a syura (consultative) council to "resolve" the controversy based on the advice of Selangor sultan.

The next day, the sultan expressed shock over the announcement and said he did not sanction the formation of the council.

Following this, the Selangor government has renamed the council as a 'hearing working group'.


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