The 45 followers of Ayah Pin, who were charged today, are looking at self-representation if they fail to find a syariah lawyer willing to take up their case.

The 23 women and 22 men were charged under section 10 of the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (2001) at the Kuala Terengganu syariah high court. All claimed trial.

They related to the court about their difficulties in engaging a syariah lawyer from Terengganu.

"It is really difficult to get anyone. No one wants to take up our case," said one of the accused Roslina Mohamad, appealing for more time.

Noting the problem, Judge Mohamad Abdullah set Sept 1 for the case to be mentioned.

"I'm aware that all the accused persons here are facing the same problem. It's not so much that the syariah lawyers are scared. I think that they are, and understandably so, reluctant because this is a religiously-sensitive case.

"But you still have to find a lawyer. If you still remain unrepresented, I'll hear the prosecution before considering your side," he said.

He asked the group to choose from "a complete list of all syariah lawyers" which the religious authorities had readily compiled.

"Please look for a lawyer immediately," he said, adding that since documentation is time-consuming, it was therefore paramount to hire a lawyer the soonest possible.

"I'll only consider granting more time if it is to prepare the defence," he added.

The prosecution is expected to bring in at least 40 witnesses for the entire case.

Handcuffs and chains

Earlier today, the women were charged first while the men were brought into the courtroom later in chains and handcuffs and their heads shorn.

The 17 remaining men who had been in detention since the July 20 raid by the state religious affairs department on their spiritual commune were granted a reduced bail of RM2,000 each (prosecution applied for RM3,000) while the women's bail period was extended accordingly.

All except for Kamariah Ali ( photo ), who was again denied bail, were charged under section 10 of the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Takzir) 2001 which was amended from violating a fatwa to one of insulting the state religious authorities through its violation.

Ayah Pin's followers had allegedly committed the violations by failing to comply with the state fatwa which required all Muslims to stay away from him and his teachings.

Kamariah, who has firmly stood her ground about no longer being a Muslim, faces an additional charge under section 7 for admitting to being a non-Muslim and not wishing to be tried in a syariah court.

"I have left Islam and do not see the point of being tried in a syariah court. I also have a lawyer," she said, referring to Kuala Lumpur-based human rights lawyer Haris Mohamed Ibrahim.

At this juncture, Haris, who was in court, reiterated the problems of finding a syariah lawyer for the whole group in and outside of Terengganu.

In denying bail and setting Kamariah's trial for Aug 10, Justice Mohamad said he wanted to avoid prolonged detention.

Proceedings will continue

Approached later about procedures on court-appointed lawyers, chief syariah prosecutor Mustafar Hamzah said there were no such provisions in the syariah system.

"This is the first time. I know of some cases where the accused did not want a lawyer," he said.

"In such a case, the syariah judge can ask a syariah lawyer to represent an accused but the lawyer has the right to refuse for whatever reason and the court cannot do anything about it.

"If the accused remains legally unrepresented, the trial will still continue and proceedings will be at the judge's discretion.

"Unfortunately, nothing else can be done under prevailing laws. Perhaps the relevant procedures need to be reviewed after this case," he added.

The group of Ayah Pin's followers remained calm and some were seen smiling in the courtroom.