Jais sees red over Jamal's hearses stunt

The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) has criticised Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos for misusing coffins and hearses belonging to several mosques for his protest against Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali.

In a statement today, Jais director Haris Kasim said Jamal's action was tantamount to tarnishing the mosques.

"Jais deeply regrets the action by several irresponsible individuals who exploited the mosques' facilities for the purpose of a demonstration outside the Selangor state-secretariat building.

"Their actions had tarnished the sanctity of the mosque institution," he added.

Haris said initial investigations by Jais revealed that mosque committee members in charge of the hearses had been "manipulated".

He said several individuals claiming to be from Gabungan NGO Selangor had contacted the mosques on the pretext of wanting to rent the hearses for photoshoots, anti-gambling campaigns, exhibitions or other reasons.

Therefore, the Jais director urged mosque committee members to exercise caution to prevent future abuses of the institution's facilities.

On Tuesday, Jamal, who was dressed as a grave digger, brought 15 hearses and a coffin to protest against the alleged abuse of the "Skim Mesra Usia Emas" (SMUE) - a scheme to fund costs incurred upon the death of senior family members in Selangor.

Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar yesterday defended Jamal's protest, saying the gimmick was "relevant" to the message the latter was attempting to relay.

Over the months, Jamal has turned up outside the state secretariat building in towels to protest against water cuts, and more recently, bringing beds to the venue to object the presence of massage parlours in the state.- Mkini