A male dominated Muslim coalition has called on the police to investigate and charge the female-dominated Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) under the Sedition Act for allegedly insulting Islam.

Penang Muslim Coordinating Forum (Forum), which comprises 32 Islamic-based organisations, lodged two police reports in George Town today calling on the police to probe into JAG's press statement on Aug 24 and a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Aug 25.

Forum also wants the police to probe into the alleged overseas funding received by JAG affiliates.

The coalition also wants the Home Minister to revoke publication permits given to media groups, which disseminated information, views and opinions deemed to insult Islam which included a call to the repeal the Syariah criminal laws in the country.

Forum spokesperson Mohamed Hafiz Mohamed Nordin, who lodged one of the reports today, described JAG's memorandum as "unruly and ill-mannered" (biadap dan kurang ajar).

NONE The other report was lodged by Ahmad Fahmi Abu Bakar.

In the press statement and memorandum, JAG has criticised the Syariah Court decision to whip Muslim model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno (left) for alcohol drinking offence.

In the memorandum, JAG called on Najib to repeal the application of Syariah laws in the country.

JAG comprises five organisations namely Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower), Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Sisters In Islam (SIS), All Women Action Society (AWAM) and Women's Centre for Change, Penang (WCC).

Violated sanity of religion

Mohamed Hafiz said JAG had violated the sanctity of Islam as the country's official religion and Syariah laws upheld by Federal Constitution and inherited by the nation since the days of Malay sultanate era.

group He said JAG had also touched on the position of Malay sultans as the heads of Islam as entrenched under Article 3(2) of the Constitution and had hurt Muslim sentiments and feelings.

He said the government should sack all ministers and public officers who refused to accept Islam as the official religion and supported NGOs calling on for the repeal of Syariah laws.

Mohamed Hafiz has called on the government to strictly apply laws to preserve and enhance Islamic teachings, the independence of Syariah courts and prevent any interference to the Syariah justice system.

"Those groups and individuals criticising and insulting Islam should have been charged with sedition by now," he said, calling on the relevant enforcement agencies to initiate a probe in this matter immediately.

In its Aug statement, JAG described the whipping sentence on Kartika as "state-sponsored violence against women."

Kartika pleaded guilty to a charge of drinking alcohol - an offence under the Syariah law

in Pahang.

The Syariah Court ordered the maximum sentences to be meted out: RM5,000 fine and 6 lashes of the cane on Kartika, who is married to a Singaporean.

JAG spokesperson Maria Chin Abdullah has said the group does not support whipping for women or men.

'Contradicts constitution'

"It violates a person's human rights to be free from cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment or punishment. Moreover, it failed to work as deterrent," she said.

Maria Chin pointed out that Kartika's case illustrated the discrimination against Muslim women contrary to the guarantee provided under Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution against any form of discrimination on the grounds of religion and gender.

She argued that although whipping of women was allowed under Syariah criminal offences, it was disallowed by civil law under Section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

JAG has repeatedly lobbied for the federal government to legislate laws against discrimination and make the 1995 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) a domestic law.

"However, the government has failed on both counts," she lamented.