BY any account, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad should swiftly step in to prevent mosques as a holy institution from partaking any activity that entails swearing or oath taking by individuals charged with criminal offences in courts of law from seeking any form of divine intervention to escape punishment.
Such is the reminder of former mufti of the Federal Territories Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri who had stated previously that in current times, courts of law should serve as the right place – if not the only venue – to resolve judiciary matters.
“Henceforth, in our opinion, courts are the more appropriate place to conduct a swearing ceremony, if needed,” he pointed out in a media statement dated December 23, 2019.
“JAWI (Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department) should establish and enforce rules that prohibit whatsoever swearing ceremony, including sumpah laknat (curse oath where the confessor calls upon God to punish him if he has told a lie) should they involve public interest in that they are linked to cases that are being tried in court so as to prevent the mosque institution from being manipulated by unscrupulous quarters.”
Last night (Aug 21), ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak had performed the sumpah mubahalah (swearing in the face of divine retribution) at the Kampung Baru mosque by confessing, among others, that he has no knowledge if the RM42 mil SRC International funds that were deposited into his personal account had come from the company.
The ceremony came ahead of his final appeal at the Federal Court tomorrow (Aug 23) to quash his 12-year jail term and RM210 mil fine for embezzlement of funds in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
If ever he has been deceitful, Najib said he is prepared “to be condemned upon this oath and therefore will accept God’s wrath”.
“(However), if these all are merely lies planned by my political rivals, then dear God, I ask upon you to punish them as well as those who are complicit and colluding with them,” he completed his oath with three chants of Allahu Akbar (God is Greater).
Najib is no Saddam Hussein
Meanwhile, blogger Hussein Abd Hamid lamented that Najib who is affably known as Bossku to his supporters was unable to behave like Saddam Hussein who despite death at the gallows awaiting him “was not just fighting for his own life and his freedom, but he was also fighting the foreigners that had invaded Iraq and imposed their will upon Iraq”.
“You have to respect a man like Saddam … but he (Najib) is no Saddam Hussein,” opined Abd Hamid or steadyaku47 in his latest blog entitled Another Sumpah Laknat Will Not Save Najib; Nothing Will!
“For Najib, at every moment, in every opportunity, for any reason, always, only one person mattered above everyone else. Himself.”
As a leader of Malaysians, Abd Hamid who is believed to be residing in Melbourne (Australia) claimed that Najib has lied, stole, scammed “and took them (Malaysians) for every cent he could and still left them will billions in debt!”
“Time and time again, by the things he has done while in public office, Najib has never put the interest of anybody else ahead of his,” asserted Abd Hamid.
“From the time that he was arrested, he has shamelessly and without a thought to anything else, made self-preservation his priority and conducted himself with just that one sole focus – how can he free himself from the charges that have been laid upon him?” – Aug 22, 2022
