The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must stop the “Little Napoleons” in JAWI from imposing a “reign of terror” with their lack of understanding of the Merdeka social contract and contempt for the constitutional rights of all Malaysians, creating inter-religious tension and setting back inter-racial harmony and nation-building.
I refer to the multi-agency raid led by JAWI (Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan) to the eating shops in Lorong Maarof, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 26th June 2007, at about 11.30 a.m., particularly an Indian restaurant and a mamak restaurant.
This blog yesterday had carried an email giving an eye-witness account.
Last night, I received an email from another public-spirited Malaysian who visited Lorong Maarof to check on the complaint. This is the account her email after the visit:
“I dropped by the two Indian restaurants at Lorong Maarof this afternoon to chat with the workers and to verify what exactly happened. The Star and another paper were already there yesterday, they said.
“I looked at the summons issued to Aiswari restaurant: The raid was done by the Bahagian Hub Halal of JAKIM, together with officials from other agencies, including JAWI, KPDN and HEP (? must be Kementerian P or D (not clear) Dalam Negeri; don’t know what HEP is) and DBKL. 10 of them came into the shop, but the cashier said there were about 15 others milling outside the streets.
“According to the summons, the officers came because of a complaint (choice of berkala/aduan/susulan). 4 jenis kesalahan were written down:
1. bukan pemegang sijil halal JAKIM (this means their halal logo is from some other source?)
2. arahan tidak boleh menggunakan logo halal dan perbahasan [should be “perhiasan” – kit] dalam premis (??)
3. Sita?? – ayat ayat Qur’an di buat oleh JAWI?? (four framed ayats, 2 big, 2 small were taken away)
4. tiada pekerja Muslim (? cashier and all workers are Muslim)
“The cashier who seems to be in charge was quite agitated, esp about the Muslim workers and halal meat served. He is an Indian (national) Muslim, showed the JAKIM ppl his passport with his Muslim name and all the 7 workers there were Muslim and so is the owner. The raiders questioned the ‘halal’ ness of the food served and took the halal certs issued by the meat suppliers. Said he and the workers and owner are all Muslim so why shd they serve non-halal meat and chicken.
“they also took away all the ayat Qur’an, but I can’t figure out what the offence is – ayat Qur’an dibuat oleh JAWI??? Maybe they allege this is not a genuine Halal Muslim place, so they have no right to display ayat Qur’an?
“At the corner restaurant where my friend’s niece ( the writer of the original email) was eating, they inspected the place, checked the meat to see if its halal, took pictures, took the halal certificate, and questioned why they have pictures of Hindu gods and candle on the mantlepiece behind the cashier when they serve Muslim customers. The guy said he told the JAKIM people the meat served is halal and showed him their halal cert from the supplier. Two other restaurants were closed.
“These seem to be neighbourhood hangouts and people of all races were there when I stopped by at 3 pm. If indeed they were doing the rounds to check on halal certification, why the heavy handed approach and comments and actions on display of religious symbols. (oh Ganesh was still very much there today on the wall, but the ayat Qur’an remains missing in the other place)
“My niece’s friend said it was very intimidating to have 10 officials walking around, taking pictures, asking questions, picking up food… and in these days of Lina Joy, Revathi, Subashini, Sharmala, it all points out to the same motive. How come everytime women complain about husbands not paying nafkah, or not appearing in court, the courts keep saying they do not have enough enforcement officers to serve summons on errant husbands/fathers, but plenty of enforcement officers to go on khalwat and halal raids…”
This morning before coming to Parliament, together with DAP MPs Chong Eng (Bukit Mertajam) and Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah) and DAP Selangor state secretary Lau Weng San, I visited these two Lorong Maarof restaurants, and verified the complaints and the facts that had been given in the two emails as true and accurate.
At the corner Indian restaurant, the JAWI-led raid team took away the “halal” sign and served a notice of its infringements, which I have yet to have sight as the owner was not in.
I understand that this is not an isolated case but such raids and offensive and insensitive remarks about the display of Hindu religious symbols in Indian restaurants had taken place in other parts of Kuala Lumpur.
The Prime Minister should cause an immediate investigation into the JAWI-led raids in utter disregard of the rights and sensitivities of non-Muslim Malaysian businesses and to suspend the errant officers from JAWI and other agencies like JAKIM.