Firdaus Wong appeals order to remove secret minor conversions video

 

Preacher Firdaus Wong wants the Court of Appeal to set aside an interim mandatory injunction granted by the High Court compelling him to remove a TikTok video posted online in June last year. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Firdaus Wong has gone to the Court of Appeal to set aside a High Court order compelling him to remove a video allegedly encouraging the secret conversions to Islam of underage non-Muslim children.

Lawyer M Visvanathan, appearing for eight non-Muslim parents in an action brought against the preacher, said his firm was served with a copy of the notice of appeal.

“The Court of Appeal has yet to fix an appeal hearing date,” he told FMT.

Justice Amarjeet Singh, who allowed the interim injunction on Dec 3 pending the disposal of the suit by the parents, last week provided his written grounds to facilitate the appeal hearing.

In his 15-page judgment, the judge said it was abundantly clear that Firdaus had rendered advice on how to convert non-Muslim minors without their parents’ knowledge and, more importantly, how to hide the conversion from their families.

“What the defendant (Firdaus) did in the video is a breach of Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution, which provides that the religion of a person under the age of 18 years shall be decided by his parent or guardian,” he said.

Amarjeet said he was satisfied that there was a serious bona fide issue to be tried in the case.

“The balance of convenience in the present case lies in favour of the plaintiffs (parents).

“If the mandatory interim injunction is not granted, the plaintiffs will suffer a risk of irreparable damage if any of their children are converted to Islam without their knowledge or consent,” he added.

He said the potential injury to the plaintiffs is higher if the video is not taken down.

“The justice in the present case lies with the plaintiffs. An award of money may provide no adequate compensation if the plaintiffs’ children are converted without their knowledge. Further, conversion is a serious matter in our country,” he added.

Amarjeet also said he was satisfied that the parents had an unusually strong and clear case, justifying the grant of an interim mandatory injunction.

Lawyers representing Firdaus had notified the court that the impugned TikTok video had already been taken down.

In June last year, Firdaus posted the video of him giving a man instructions on how to handle requests from minors wishing to secretly convert to Islam.

Numerous police reports were lodged against Firdaus after the video made its rounds on social media. As a result, the police opened a probe into the matter under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code for allegedly making statements conducive to public mischief.

In the suit, the parents asked the court to declare that Firdaus had acted unlawfully in making such statements.

They are also seeking an injunction to compel him to permanently take down the offending video and to restrain him from making similar statements in the future.

In his defence, Firdaus denied making the statements.

Amarjeet will hear the parents’ originating summons against Firdaus on April 29. - FMT