'Selangor MB must answer for Jais action at wedding'
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim cannot remain silent over yet another action by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) that threatens to create religious and racial tension, says Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang.
Referring to Jais taking away the bride from a Hindu wedding ceremony at a temple in Petaling Jaya last Sunday, on suspicion that she is a Muslim, Tan said: "Actions by Jais must be controlled to prevent any unwanted friction between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Malaysia.
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim cannot remain silent over yet another action by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) that threatens to create religious and racial tension, says Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang.
Referring to Jais taking away the bride from a Hindu wedding ceremony at a temple in Petaling Jaya last Sunday, on suspicion that she is a Muslim, Tan ( left ) said: "Actions by Jais must be controlled to prevent any unwanted friction between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
"As the head of the Pakatan government, the menteri besar of Selangor should not continue to remain silent over the conduct of the state agency."
Jais, he pointed out in a statement today, is an agency under the state government and it could have handled the matter better, without causing severe embarrassment to the people at the temple.
Meanwhile, PKR information chief Muhammad Nur Manuty called on Jais to set up a special unit for high risk groups (that might leave Islam) so that early proactive action can be taken.
"This is to avoid a crisis like this (the Hindu wedding incident) from being repeated in future," Muhammad Nur (right) said, adding that a proper channel for dialogue should also be set up.
The bride, Zarina Abdullah Majid, has claimed her father her converted her to Islam when she was young, and without her knowledge.
However, Zarina insisted she has always been a practising Hindu and did not have any contact with her father, who divorced her mother 25 years ago.
Zarina said she had attempted to reverse the conversion but to no avail and finally decided to marry a Hindu man, despite her current status.
In January this year, Jais had raided the Bible Society of Malaysia in Damansara and carted away more than 300 copies of the Bible in the Iban and Malay languages for the use of the word "Allah" to refer to God.
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