HOW SILLY! Arming religious officers: What if the guns fall into the hands of DEVIANT GROUPS?

KUALA LUMPUR - News that Terengganu has decided to arm its religious enforcement officers with guns and firearms have triggered concern and calls for a deeper study rather than taking "impulsive" action.

"Not that I am not concerned about our religious officers but this may not be the right solution. For me guns should be handled only by certain groups such as the police or the security forces," Ahmad Zamri Asa'ad Khuzaimi, a prominent Syariah lawyer, told Malaysia Chronicle.

"We should not make such serious decisions based on just one one of two incidents. Can you imagine, if it goes wrong, there can be very dangerous consequences."

Why usurp the role of the police?

Zamri was referring to recent examples where a police officer had accidentally shot a young boy in the throat while cleaning his gun as well as the shocking discovery by the Auditor-General that 44 guns had been found missing from the police armory.

Given the spate of gangland-style shootings that recently erupted across the country, there was a public hue and cry over whether some of these missing guns could have fallen into the hands of the underworld thugs and kingpins, whose source of supply has always been a mystery.

In fact, the rationale for arming the religious officers arose from last Sunday's assassination of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department principal assistant director Ahmad Rafli Abdul Malek.

Ahmad Rafli, 49, was shot dead in front of his house by 3 men, all dressed in black and wearing while 'kopiah' or skullcaps. The suspects reportedly arrived at his house in a Proton Wira and fired several shots. They are alleged to be members of a deviant religious group.

"One must think deeply about the implications of arming other agencies. Where do you stop? An officer from the Customs Department was gunned down months ago, does this mean we have to arm all of them with guns?" said Rafizi Ramli, the MP for Pandan, referring to an April incident where the agency's deputy director-general Shaharuddin Ibrahim was shot dead on his way to work.

"After this, we may have a case of IRB (Inland Revenue Board) officers being gunned down for collecting tax. Do you armed IRB then?"

What if the guns fall into the hands of the deviant groups?

Minister in charge of Islamic Affairs at the federal level, Jamil Khir Baharom had in an immediate response said that the Department of Islamic Development was was mulling the idea of providing firearms to religious enforcement officers while on duty so as to ensure their safety.

"I would not dare say that by giving them guns, the religious officers will be safe. How about the rest of country, will we all be safer or more at risk? We don't want to fall from the kettle into the fire. Ahmad Rafli was a very sad case but we still don't what happened. Why do we straightaway jump to giving out guns to the religious department now? What if these guns fall into the hands of the deviant groups?" said Zamri.

Zamri, who is a PAS youth leader, also explained that on their raids, religious officers were always accompanied by either police officers or RELA paramilitary personnel.

"The police have their role to play. We are shocked at Ahmad's murder but why not let the police investigation take its course. Finding the culprits is the job of the police. If you say, arming religious officers will enable them to protect themselves, we must then question how well trained are they in firearms?" asked Zamri.

In a panic to appease Muslim conservatives & to mask worsening crime?

Zamri was not the only critic. Many have slammed the Najib administration for "playing to the gallery", accusing him of trying to come up with quick solutions to appease the Muslim conservatives in the country.

They also lambasted the government-controlled mainstream media for pointing the figure at deviant groups without sufficient proof.

"This is why I say we need to be cooler in our response. How do you know it is Tuhan Harun or the Syiah? Where is the proof? Why simply point fingers? And now, there is this not-very-wise rush to issue guns, why the panic? Is it that the Najib administration fears that even their hardcore supporters will start to realize the government has been mismanaging public safety and we are now all at risk. Crime is up, violent crime is up and the criminals are becoming more desperate each day because the economy is not good and it is very hard to survive out there," said Zamri.

A good example, he added, was the recent Ambank case, where a security guard had turned on his bank colleagues, shooting dead one of the staff before running off with RM450,000 cash. It took a 19-day manhunt before the killer guard, who used a fake I.C. to get his job, was finally arrested.

From the kettle into the fire?

Nonetheless, Terengganu executive councilor Ghazali Taib has confirmed the state government would authorize firearms for its religious officers.  This makes Terengganu the first to try out Jamil's controversial suggestion.

"Islamic enforcement officers in Terengganu are equipped with firearms for safety reasons. I hope that other states will take similar action to ensure that their enforcement officers are armed for self-defence purposes," Malay daily Sinar Harian quoted Ghazali as saying.

Ghazali, who is the state Education, Higher Education, Innovation and Special Tasks Committee chairman, also suggested that religious enforcement officers be placed in government quarters.

"Religious officers who face safety threats should be stationed in government quarters with security guards to prevent similar incidents from recurring," Ghazali said.

"This will ensure that their families are safe and the officers will be able to carry out their duties effectively without worry."

Malaysia Chronicle