PAS to sue Penang over failure to gazette state fatwas, including on beauty pageants
(MMO) – Penang PAS is planning legal action against the state government for allegedly failing to gazette four approved fatwas or religious edicts.
Its Youth wing chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said the party is consulting its lawyers and plan to take action soon, Umno-owned news outlet Utusan Malaysia reported on its website today.
“This lawsuit is proof of the state PAS’ determination to protect Islamic interests.
“The decision to not gazette an approved fatwa clearly goes against the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong who is the head of Islam in the state,” he was quoted telling reporters in Bukit Mertajam after officiating the state PAS wing’s annual general meeting this morning.
According to the Islamist party Youth leader, two of the fatwas prohibited Muslims from participating in beauty pageants and smoking shisha while the remaining two dealt with the management of state land and wakaf land.
Afnan was also reported claiming that political interference from the state executive council to be behind the failure to gazette the four fatwas.
The Pakatan Harapan Penang government came under fire from a state fatwa committee member Datuk Md Salleh Ahmad in early February with regards to its religious edicts, but on a different matter.
Md Salleh confirmed Afnan’s assertion of political meddling in the fatwa process, saying on February 8 that the state executive councillor in charge of Muslim affairs Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim had in 2010 instructed the Penang Fatwa Committee to review its decision in gazetting 40 words banned to non-Muslims — including “Allah” — so as to be consistent with the state government’s stand on the issue.
The 40 words, gazetted in 2010, are “Solat”, “Surau”, “Masjid”, “Allah”, “Firman Allah”, “Ulama”, “Hadith”, “Ibadah”, “Kaabah”, “Qadhi’”, “Illahi”, “Wahyu”, “Mubaligh”, “Syariah”, “Qiblat”, “Haji”, “Mufti”, “Rasul”, “Iman”, “Dakwah”, “Wali”, “Fatwa”, “Imam”, “Nabi”, “Sheikh”, “Khutbah”, “Tabligh”, “Akhirat”, “Azan”, “Al Quran”, “As Sunnah”, “Auliya’”, “Karamah”, “Syahadah”, “Baitullah”, “Musolla”, “Zakat Fitrah”, “Hajjah”, “Taqwa” and “Soleh”.
Md Salleh further claimed that other fatwas were put on hold by the state religious affairs exco, and urged his committee to discuss the alleged interference.
He also appealed for all political meddling to cease immediately, insisting that the edicts be presented directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and bypassing the state exco.