Imam flings shoes at judges over eviction case

An imam, who had been ordered to be evicted from his premises because of disciplinary problems, took the unprecedented step of throwing his shoes at three judges on the Federal Court bench today.

The incident took place just after 10am when the three-man bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Zulkifli Ahmad Makinuddin (right)rejected imam Hoslan Hussain's application to hear his appeal.

This followed an objection raised by the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Council (MAIWP) lawyer Zulkefli Che Yong that Hoslan’s affidavit was filed outside the timeframe allowed.

Hoslan, who was not represented, was standing at the row of tables where the prosecutors and lawyers are seated.

The imam is said to have argued with Justice Zulkefli and asked him to be lenient, but the judge replied that the bench had to allow the preliminary objection as this was in accordance with the law.
Judge tries to pacify imam

Justice Zulkefli tried to pacify Hoslan, but the imam did not want to listen any longer and suddenly took off his shoe and flung it at the judges' bench.
The shoe narrowly missed the head of one of the judges, but then Hoslan took off his other shoe and threw it - which hit the deputy registrar of the apex court.

The two other members on the panel were Justice Suriyadi Halim Omar and Justice Zaleha Zahari.

Following the incident, police on duty at the court grabbed hold of Hoslan and calmed him down.The court then adjourned the matter and as the lawyers left, Hoslan held a prayer in court.

It is learnt that the three-member bench did not initiate any contempt order against Hoslan. The deputy registrar is said to have asked mainstream media not to report the shoe throwing.
MAIWP wants to evict imam

According to MAIWP's lawyer Zulkifli, the council wanted to evict Hoslan, an imam rawatib or an appointed by the community, who has been with the Ar Rahimah mosque in Kampung Pandan since 2008, because of disciplinary problems.

He said Hoslan (right) refuses to read the stipulated khutbah as required by MAIWP and that there were also other complaints against him.

“However, he does not want to leave his quarters in the mosque premises, resulting in MAIWP  applying to the High Court to evict him, and the court in Kuala Lumpur issued an order for him to be evicted on June 16 last year.

“Hoslan appealed to the Court of Appeal and it upheld the High Court decision on Sept 20 last year, resulting in the case coming up to the Federal Court today,” Zulkifli said.

He said Hoslan's notice of motion to the Federal Court was filed out of time.

Hence, the lawyer said, he had been instructed to raise the preliminary objection under the Courts of Judicature Act as well as the Federal Court Rules, under which applicant's affidavit should also be filed, within 30 days of the motion being filed.

“This is the procedure and Hoslan did not comply with it,” Zulkifli said.

The imam tells a different story

Contacted later by Malaysiakini, Hoslan said his grouse was not eviction but justice, for he had been highlighting corruption and abuse of funds at the Ar Rahimah mosque and these issues had not been attended to.

He claimed that he had made numerous reports to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and also to the police over the abuses, but there had been no action.

“In fact, Umno extends its  powers on the mosque. It was Umno's hands behind this and it used MAIWP to remove me.

“Prior to being an imam rawatib, I was the bilal at the mosque. I have been imam since 2005, but I refused to leave because the mosque committee has been abusing its powers and funds,” Hoslan claimed.

“I did not have legal representation in all the court cases. It is not that I cannot afford it, but MAIWP has suspended my pay.

“I want to set the record straight on corruption and abuses in the mosque. I believe such abuses are taking place in other mosques in the Federal Territory, especially those controlled by Umno.”

A staunch supporter of PAS

Hoslan also admitted to being a staunch opposition supporter of the opposition, especially PAS, and said he helped out in every by-election campaign the party was involved in.

At the height of the Bersih 2.0 saga last year, he said, the Friday sermon at his mosque advised the people not to attend the rally.

Upon hearing the sermon, Hoslan said, he lifted his robe in protest before the congregation, to show them his yellow Bersih T-shirt.

He said one of the abuses he discovered was that of a renowned restaurant paying monthly fee of more than RM3,000 to the mosque – but the money does not reach the committee.

The money is paid to a mosque committee member who approved the restaurant's use of land belonging to the mosque.

“Despite such blatant abuses, there is no action despite me reporting the matter to the mosque committee. Where is justice?” Hoslan asked.

On the shoe-throwing incident today, Hoslan said he was merely making his point on the court's failure in upholding justice and not wanting to look at such abuses.

He said the courts and the justice system were flawed and had failed, especially since former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had been running the country.

“Yes, I threw my shoes, the first nearly missing the bench and the second struck the person below (the deputy registrar). I do not believe our courts can uphold justice,” Hoslan said.

Following the incident, he added, he lodged a police report at the Putrajaya police station and that he would personally submit a copy of the report to inspector-general of police soon.