Perlis Mufti Asri Zainul Abidin today denied that he supports Malay civil society group G25 who are under fire for calling for a review on syariah law implementation.

Asri was accused of this after he questioned the outrage against the group for calling a halt to khalwat (close proximity) raids but his relative silence on abuse of power.

The mufti said he had before this also criticised the group - which includes former top civil servants - for holding secret meetings with politicians.

"The groups Syiah Saqqaf and Ahbash are spreading rumours that I support G25. That is not true.

"There was also the misunderstanding that we should not make a big deal about consumption of alcohol and that this is normal. This is unreasonable," he said on his Facebook page.

G25 member Tawfik Ismail had sparked the debate when he said Muslims in Malaysia decades ago were allowed to choose how they want to practice their religion including if they want to consume alcohol or not, without fear of moral policing.

Asri said his views against breaching privacy in anti-vice raids has been consistent since 2007.

He added many try to look for vice that is hidden but look the other way when it is done in the open.

He said this included things like domestic abuse, refusal to pay child support and not fulfilling promises made to the people.

'Against syariah'

"I then said there must be a proper syariah-compliant guidelines for anti-vice raids. The operations can continue but they must be done properly and only to stop vice.

"Paying people to spy or bringing reporters along on these raids is against syariah. I have written about this since 2008," he said.

G25 is under fire for its call to halt khalwat raids with critics threatening sexual assault and urging for a fatwa against the group for 'deviant' teachings.

The group responded by urging for a discussion on the implementation of syariah law, saying that God's law should be enforced justly.