Sultan to issue decree on Jais-church issue

The sultan of Selangor will issue a decree on the Aug 3 search of the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in the next few days, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said today.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had, during an audience with Khalid this morning, told the menteri besar that he would provide his views and advice on how best to solve the issue.

"Out of respect for the sultan, the state exco members and I will not make any more comments on the issue," Abdul Khalid said.

Speaking at the state assembly building in Shah Alam after an exco meeting, Abdul Khalid said the state will abide by the ruler's advice.

The issue involves the Aug 3 raid at a dinner function at the DUMC compound in Petaling Jaya by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais), which has sparked a major controversy.
The MB, however, stressed that this does not mean that the state government is washing its hands of the controversy.

“We are involved (in solving the matter), but we must follow the customs. The sultan is the head of Islam and he will make a decree (on the matter),” he said.

Mum on report details

Probed by reporters, the MB refused to reveal the contents of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) report which was submitted last month, also citing the sultan's decree.

Abdul Khalid also did not want to “speculate” as to whether the sultan's decree would affect Jais' decision whether or not to charge the 12 Muslims who participated in the event at the church during the search.

“This is speculative. The discussion which took place between the sultan and me is not meant to be made public knowledge,” he said.

Jais had searched DUMC on Aug 3, following an alleged tip-off that Muslims were being converted into Christiantity.

The church, however, denies this and maintains that the event was a thanksgiving and fundraising dinner for Harapan Komuniti, an NGO who provides aid to sufferers of HIV/AIDS and their families.

Since the incident, several blogs have leaked videos of the Jais search, personal details of the Muslims who attended the event and what they claim is the agency's report on the incident.

Following this, the female participants claimed that they have received late night harassing phone calls, while Harapan Komuniti received a death threat at its premises in Petaling Jaya.