The federal government has been asked to identify which agency had ordered the Al-Ikhlasiah mosque in Kampung Kerinchi mosque to lower the volume of its loudspeakers.

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said statements from various government departments denying involvement with the matter were causing confusion among the public.

She pointed out that on Thursday, the mosque’s imam, Mahadi Abdullah, had said that the order to lower the loudspeaker volume came from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi).

pkr congress 281110 nurul izzah anwar “Jawi’s position on this matter is very important because there appears to be conflicting facts especially since (minister in charge of Islamic affairs) Jamil Khir Baharom denied issuing any instructions,” she said.

Nurul Izzah ( left ) said someone must take responsibility as the issue had caused a raucous demonstration last Friday that threatened the fabric of the nation’s multi-ethnic society.

“This is to prevent any future disputes (on the mosque loudspeaker volume)... (The demonstration) was a scary sight and this is will jeopardise our harmonious country,” she said.

Speaking at PKR’s weekly press conference in Petaling Jaya today, Nurul Izzah, who is a party vice-president, said that these questions have been raised in her letter that was submitted to the prime minister’s office today.

The row started after MCA Youth strategy bureau deputy chief Ng Kian Nam submitted several letters to the prime minister’s office complaining about the volume of the azan (call to prayer) emitted from the mosque.

Ng, who stays in the nearby Pantai Hillpark condominium, claimed that the volume was too loud compared to other mosques and urged the authorities to come up with scientific methods to standardise the volume of loudspeakers at mosques.

ng kian nam apologise raja nong chik 170111 In a press conference organised by Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal yesterday, Ng ( centre in pic )  apologised for starting the controversy and the apology was accepted by representatives from the groups which participated in the demonstration.

Blank cheque for MRT

On the proposed deployment of a Mass Rail Transit (MRT) system in the Klang Valley, Nurul Izzah urged the authorities to establish a paliamentary select committee to supervise its implementation.

She said that the project should not be rushed to ensure that the taxpayer’s funds are not squandered.

azlan The project will cost more than the initial RM36 billion estimated in 2009 because this does not include the cost of land acquisition and rolling stock (the actual trains).

“(Currently) it is like a house owner who gives a blank cheque to his contractor to decide on the size, design and subcontractors of the house. At the end of the day, the home owner may or may not end up with an overblown mansion that he neither needs nor can afford,” said Nurul Izzah.

On the disputed Subang Jaya Municipal Council licensing requirement to ban the hiring of Muslims at entertainment outlets which serve alcohol, Nurul Izzah said that Jais must take the lead in issuing guidelines on the matter.

“Apart from that, I also recommend a dialogue session to discuss this, where we can hear opinions from Islamic experts,” she said.

She stressed that there should not be any dispute on this because it was Jais that had the authority to enforce Syariah law and not local authorities.

Nurul Izzah also reiterated the state government’s position that the economic effect of the ban must be studied thoroughly before it was implemented.

“We must think of and take into account those who will be out of a job. Will it or will it not effect their livelihood?” she added.