Business radio station BFM and the group Projek Dialog have jointly apologised over a satirical video on the hudud issue that is said to have caused offence.

However, it condemned the personal attacks on the presenter of the video, Aisyah Tajuddin, which it said has included death and rape threats.

It said such attacks are not only illegal, but also have no place in a society that espouses peace and tolerance.

“We wish to state that Aisyah Tajuddin is merely a stand-in cast member of the video and is not its regular presenter.

“She is not the author of the script and so the views of the video are not a reflection of her personal stance on the issue,” it added.

The video uploaded yesterday was just under two-minutes long, and shows Aisyah launching into a tirade against Kelantan’s Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 amended yesterday.

She said religion is being used to distract from issues afflicting the Kelantanese such as the floods late last year, drug abuse, divorce, and pornography.

“It is like the issues of the country, where people fight over religion and race while the economy deteriorates and the national debt increased.

“When the time comes, I wonder if hudud can fill our rice bowls,” she said.

The video was titled ‘Hudud fills the rice bowl?’ and is part of the BFMKupas video series.

It drew heavy condemnation include a Facebook page urging a boycott that has drawn thousands of ‘Likes’.

The video has since been deleted, while Aisyah appears to have closed all her social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In its statement, BFM and Projek Dialog said the video’s critics appear to believe that the video is questioning the desirability of hudud.

“In fact we had no intention to do so. We merely asked that our audience should consider legitimate questions around its implementation. We wish to apologise if any offence arose,” it said.

Instead, it said it was trying to provide satirical commentary on whether hudud’s implementation should be the Kelantan government’s top priority, especially in light of the state’s economic issues and damage from the recent floods.

Groups slam threats of violence

Meanwhile, NGOs Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the Institute of Journalists (IOJ) and Sisters in Islam (SIS) separately condemned the threats of violence against Aisyah.

All three urged the police to take action against those making the threats, which SIS pointed out is a violation of Sections 503 and 506 of the Penal Code and is punishable with up to seven years imprisonment, a fine, or both.

SIS added that the threats are against the principles of freedom of expression in Islam and the federal constitution, and the Kelantan enactment is not above scrutiny.

“Issues raised by Aisyah Tajuddin in the satirical video such as the post-flood problems, drugs, and poverty should also be given priority compared to the implementation of the Syariah Criminal Code II Enactment 1993 Amendment Bill” the group said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, CIJ defended BFM and Aisyah’s freedom to produce the video and urged the police to take threats of actual violence seriously instead of focusing on harmless dissidents.

It said those who disagree with the video should debate the issues instead of issuing threats.

“The passing of the state enactment on hudud has serious implications and has been the subject of debate, both amongst Muslims and non-Muslims.

“Despite the video’s light-hearted nature, it raises serious questions about our leaders’ priorities in governance, and whether religion and race are often used to distract the people from important issues such as the state of our economy and rising debt,” said CIJ directors Sonia Randhawa and Jac Kee in their statement.

The IOJ concurred that the hudud issue should be discussed and debated and that attacks on Aisyah are an attack on the media and freedom of speech.

 

“The Malaysian media must not be intimidated into silence on whatever issue that has a direct or indirect effect on society, especially from parties who have abandoned whatever dubious moral grounds that their comments were based on when they decided to threaten a woman with rape and murder under the guise of defending religious principles,” it said.