Former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin plans to file defamation suits against the Syarie Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PGSM) and an officer from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) for allegedly undermining his credibility and tarnishing his reputation as an Islamic scholar and Muslim.

NONE Asri said that he would also seek a public explanation from the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) for the manner it carried out his arrest Sunday night.

The scholar was detained after conducting a religious talk at a bungalow in Ampang on the charge that he did not have prior authorisation to do so.

Asri said Jakim must also publicly explain the press statement by one of its officers, Zamihan Mat Zain, which disputed the authenticity of his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Jordan.

"Jakim must clarify whether Zamihan was speaking on behalf of the department or in his individual capacity," the Universiti Sains Malaysia lecturer told reporters at his house in Mengkuang, Bukit Mertajam tonight.

'My degree is valid'

Press reports quoted Zamihan, an assistant director with Jakim's Malaysian Islamic Training Institute (Miti), as alleging that Asri's degree on Arabic and Syariah was unauthentic.

Zamihan was also quoted as saying that the Jordanian university would not issue a single degree specialising in two subjects.

Disputing this, Asri said many of his Malaysian university mates could prove that he had studied and obtained a valid degree from the Arab country.

"If my certificate is invalid, I would be disallowed to take up the masters course in USM and Phd in the International Islamic University (IIU). I would not even be appointed as Perlis Mufti.

"Jakim surely owes an explanation on this," he said.

The bone of contention between the 38-year-old religious figurehead and PGSM was the memorandum sent by the association to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin on Oct 12.

The memorandum, backed by 13 Muslim non-governmental organisations, opposed the proposed appointment of Asri as the new president of the Islamic Da'wah Foundation of Malaysia on the grounds that he had insulted certain Islamic scholars.

Asri has urged the association to provide proof that he had insulted renowned scholars such as Imam Nawawi, Imam Bukhari and Imam Ghazali.

'This is a conspiracy'

NONE Meanwhile, the former Mufti is also certain that he is a victim of a conspiracy authored by those who disagreed with his views.

"I was detained even though Jais was still investigating and constituting the charge. I was arrested and treated like a cult leader. Why?

"It could be either a Jais conspiracy or Jais is being used by conspirators. I don't want to accuse anyone but I am sure it's a conspiracy," he said.

Asri was told to be present at the Gombak Timur Syariah Court yesterday morning. He waited for almost four hours but the Jais prosecutor and investigating officer did not turn up.

His lawyers Zulkifli Che Yong and Azmi Rais later issued a statement that their client would not be charged today and that Jais wanted to record the former mufti's statement on another date.

Asri is being investigated under Section 119 of the Selangor Islamic Administration Enactment for not possessing authorisation to conduct religious talks.

If found guilty, he is liable to a maximum fine of RM3,000 or a maximum two years jail or both.

Several prominent figures, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, have questioned the motive behind the arrest.