Court lets Borders sue JAWI for ‘improper’ prosecution

Borders chief operating officer Yau Su Peng (centre) and Borders assistant general manager Stephen Fung (right) attended the court hearing with their lawyer Rosli Dahlan (left) on June 25, 2012. — Picture by Ida Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Bookstore operator Berjaya Books today won leave for a judicial review against the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (JAWI) for what it claims was ‘improper’ prosecution against an employee and illegal seizure of a controversial book before it was banned by the Home Ministry.

Berjaya owns Borders Bookstores, whose store manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz was charged on June 19 in the Kuala Lumpur syariah court with distributing copies of a book by Canadian Muslim author Irshad Manji deemed to be against Islamic law (hukum syarak) and banned in Malaysia.

JAWI enforcers had raided the bookstore and seized Manji’s book titled “Allah, Liberty and Love” last May 23.

A Borders Bookstores outlet in Malaysia. — Picture courtesy of www.borders.com.my

“The grounds for granting the leave for judicial review are there are merits to the case, it’s not premature, and the courts have jurisdiction,” Rosli Dahlan, the lawyer for Berjaya, told reporters today.

The matter was decided in chambers before High Court judge Rohana Yusof.

The hearing date for the judicial review has been set for September 5.

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