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PETALING JAYA: A recent claim by a man that his foreign Muslim wife had embraced Hinduism, in a video that went viral, may be outside the jurisdiction of local Islamic authorities.
The Director General of the Malaysian Shariah Judicial Department (JKSM), Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, who is also a Chief Sharia judge, said they have no authority to prosecute an apostasy crime involving an Indonesian woman because the crime was allegedly committed outside the country, Bernama. reported.
He added that a person can only be prosecuted under the Syariah Penal Law of 1992 if the crime was committed in this country.
“For example, if an Indonesian Muslim was arrested (for committing khalwat) in Malaysia, that individual can be punished under the laws of our country.
“We don’t see where the person is from as long as he is Muslim,” Bernama said at the Ipoh sharia court today.
His response comes in the wake of measures taken by the government after the video went viral, and Prime Minister’s Department Minister (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Mohamad Al Bakri said earlier this week that police were investigating the affair.
Johor Police Chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay was reported to have said on Sunday that the man who made the video was believed to be around 29 years old and had already been identified.
It said police raided a house in the Dato Onn housing area in Johor Bahru, but the suspect was not found there.
“Police checks found that only the father and sister of the suspect were staying there,” Ayob Khan said, adding that no one was arrested and no items were confiscated during the raid.
He also said that the case was being investigated by the federal Classified Criminal Investigation Unit, and that further investigations were being carried out under the Sedition Act, the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act.
