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Friday, August 2, 2013

Muslim dog owner’s remand extreme, born of paranoia, says Zaid

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(The Malay Mail) - He observed that Maznah had been treated like a criminal who posed a serious security threat to the country when she had yet to be charged, let alone convicted by a court of law. 
Screen capture of the series of tweets Zaid posted on the issue.Screen capture of the series of tweets Zaid posted on the issue.PETALING JAYA, Aug 2 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has called the decision to remand a Muslim woman over an Aidilfitri video which featured her dogs a result of paranoia and suggested that Muslims were “protected species” in Malaysia.
Besides the former Cabinet minister, a number of other Malay-Muslim community leaders have also labelled the action excessive.
“You can investigate any case but there is no need to remand, no need to detain people unless it’s absolutely necessary. This is not a hardcore crime,” Zaid told The Malay Mail Online yesterday, referring to the arrest and detention of Maznah Mohd Yusof on Wednesday on sedition claims.
The former de facto law minister during the Abdullah administration denounced the police action on the 38-year-old woman as excessive in relation to her purported offence.
He observed that Maznah had been treated like a criminal who posed a serious security threat to the country when she had yet to be charged, let alone convicted by a court of law.
“I think they have taken a high-handed approach... everyone is paranoid,” said the former lawyer who once ran the country’s largest legal firm, Zaid Ibrahim & Co.
“Everybody is influenced by public opinion and everybody is scared to do the right thing,” he added.
The 62-year-old took to Twitter yesterday following the announcement of a two-day remand order for Maznah, ostensibly to aid in further investigation under the Sedition Act and section 298A of the Penal Code, which includes a variety offences, namely causing “disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will, or prejudicing, etc, the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.”
Without naming anyone, Zaid posted a series of tweets where he hit out at the authorities over what he perceived to be a trigger-happy reaction to issues concerning Muslims and Islam.
“Muslims in Malaysia dont do naughty things. So anything outside the norm; like having dogs as pet; or buying 4 digits not tolerated.
“They are treated like criminals; remanded; become subject of speeches by top leaders. Muslims are protected species,” he posted in a series of tweets on his Twitter account, @zaidibrahim.
He added: “Malay Rulers used to keep dogs as pets. Those days Islam was not under threat and Muslims were human and allowed to be such.”
Several other Malay-Muslim community leaders The Malay Mail Online spoke with shared similar concerns, saying the authorities were going overboard by restraining for three days a Muslim woman who had recorded walking and bathing her three dogs as the “Takbir Raya”, or Muslim call to prayer that is traditionally reserved for the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, played in the background.
PAS MP Khalid Samad said that while the authorities have a right to act on those who could inflame religious tensions, a remand order was necessary only if Maznah had showed she had intent to do so.
“She doesn’t need to be remanded and detained, but there must be action from the authorities if it was her intention to provoke religious sentiments.
“Unless you believe she will run away,” he said.
PKR lawmaker Nurul Izzah Anwar also voiced her opinion that the remand order to be “completely unnecessary” to aid the police investigation.
She said police resources would have been better used to deal with the alarming spate of increasingly violent crimes that pose a serious security threat within the country.
“I believe it’s high time that we addressed real crime and actual threats — and stop allowing bigots to dictate national agenda.
“The paranoia is due to a rudderless leadership by DS Najib Razak,” the second-term Lembah Pantai MP told The Malay Mail Online in a text message.
She also blamed the latest religious storm on the prime minister.
“I believe he can set the national tone and agenda. As such it is a self-made paranoia by the powers-that-be. Don’t blame society when authorities lack independence and remain susceptible to political influence,” she said.
Sisters In Islam (SIS) programme manager Suri Kempe also condemned Maznah’s remand as excessive and a harassment tactic among hardline religious groups to pressure the dog trainer.
“This excessive reaction does not reflect Malaysia’s much touted moderation, and feeds into the rhetoric of those who preach intolerance and narrow-minded fundamentalism,” she said.
Maznah was reported by news site Mynewshub.com on Tuesday as saying that she made the video in 2010 to show that dogs are not “haram” (forbidden) as widely believed, and that Muslims could keep canines as pets.
She was arrested late Wednesday evening and taken to the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur before she was sent to Segamat in Johor where the first police complaints against her three-year-old video were filed, ostensibly to aid in further investigation.
A Segamat magistrate’s court had issued a two-day remand order, which expires today.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/muslim-dog-owners-remand-extreme-born-of-paranoia-says-zaid?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.d2cpPxtx.dpuf

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