Penang authorities said the joint management committee (JMC) of a Tanjung Tokong Tri Pinnacle condominium complex had never ordered a surau to lower its volume for the azan (Muslim call for prayers).
As such, social media users should to double-check their facts before sharing or commenting on topics involving sensitive race and religion issues, said Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman.
“There was no such directive from the JMC of the high-rise apartment, or from the religious authorities. We need to be careful in such matters.
“There was no attempt to deter the Saidina Umar surau at Tower A of TRI Pinnacle from broadcasting their azan,” Zakiyuddin told a press conference yesterday (May 16).
A videoclip recently went viral on social media showing a dialogue session between the JMC of a condominium in Tanjung Tokong Tri Pinnacle and the residents of the condominium.
However, the situation became tense when the JMC raised the issue of loudspeakers in the condominium surau.
It is understood that the condominium has three blocks, with each block boasting 48-storey high. The majority of the residents there are Muslims.
The surau is said to be located about 200 meters from the first block.
It is also understood that there are four loudspeakers in the condominium surau, two of which are small size located inside the surau, while the other two large sized ones are located outside the surau.
The JMC of the condominium is believed to have prohibited the surau from using the two large sized loudspeakers outside the surau for the call to prayer. Instead, the surau can only use the small sized loudspeaker from inside the surau.
Following that, a TikTok user Mohd Sophian Mohd Zain made a controversial video on the issue implying that the azan was not allowed.
According to Zakiyuddin, the video posted by the local social activist was misleading and had caused unease among Muslims, according to the former Pinang Tunggal assemblymen.
“Upon checking, there was no such thing. The video post was confusing, it did not display sincerity, and it was uploaded with malicious intent,” the former Pinang Tunggal assemblyman was reported as saying.
TRI Pinnacle JMC chairman Alex Low stated in a press conference yesterday (May 16) that the issue of the surau’s speaker was only raised as a proposal to discuss its placement during the JMC’s annual general meeting with residents on May 9, but this topic was withdrawn because it was deemed a sensitive issue.
JMC also apologised, claiming that the meeting was private but the content of the meeting had been released to the public with inaccurate context.
“We regret that an internal discussion that was private, was made viral to cause confusion. We would like to apologise for this issue. I personally apologise if I angered anyone,” Low said. – May 17, 2023
Main pic credit: Buletin Mutiara
