The High Court today scheduled Nov 14 to decide on the application to quash one of the three charges faced by controversial couple Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, who are accused of insulting Muslims during Ramadan this year.      

Judge Kamardin Hashim set the date after hearing the submissions of the couple’s lawyer Chong Joo Tian and deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.        

On Aug 21, the applicants Alvin or Tan Jye Yee, 25, and Vivian or Lee May Ling, 24, filed to quash the charge they face under Section 298A(1)(a) of the Penal Code.    

They are seeking an order to declare that Section 298A of the Act is inconsistent and contradictory to the federal constitution and cannot be enforced against them, and that even if the charge was lawful it only applied to Muslims.     

Tan and Lee were charged under the Section with posting a picture of them eating bak kut teh (a pork dish) and a caption saying ‘Selamat Berbuka Puasa with bak kut teh’ (fragrant, delicious and appetising) and a halal logo in the corner, which was likely to cause religious enmity between people of different faiths.     

Earlier in his submission, Chong stated that the prosecution’s allegation of the Facebook post being an insult to Muslims was illogical and baseless.

“Such an allegation only goes to clearly show a prejudiced attitude and view of the other races in Malaysia, ignorant and insecure about one’s own religion as well as an emotional reaction not based on facts,” he said.   

Chong submitted that ‘bak kut teh’ meant ‘meat bone tea’ and therefore the use of the words or phrase did not constitute an insult to Islam.  

He added that Section 298A of the Penal Code was a provision to control, manage and ensure the stability of Islamic practices to prevent any conflict or enmity among Muslims, and the Section was not applicable to maintain public order.     

Meanwhile, Wan Shaharuddin submitted that the applicants’ act of inviting Muslims to enjoy ‘bak kut teh’ during Ramadan was an insult which had provoked ire, hatred and split between the Malays and Chinese, as well as threatened the harmony of the multi-racial community and public order.     

He further refuted as groundless the applicants’ submission that the Section 298A charge should be dropped because they were not Muslims and that it was exclusively applicable to Muslims.       

This was because a motion to limit the Section to only Muslims had been rejected during the Parliament’s first term sitting on Dec 10, 1982.    

Tan and Lee are also jointly charged under the Incitement Act 1948 with publishing inciting content, namely the same picture and caption on their Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/alvivi.swingers.    

The third charge under the Film Censorship Act 2002 involves the posting of pornographic pictures on http://alviviswingers. tumblr.com/, between July 6 and 7.  

- Bernama