Lack of female officers hampers Terengganu’s hearse parade plan

State religious authorities now planning to employ more female officers to nab Muslim men who skip Friday prayers.

PETALING JAYA: Terengganu’s plan to “punish” Muslim men who skip Friday prayers by parading them in a hearse in front of the public has not yielded a single arrest, more than a year after it was implemented.

According to authorities, the plan failed to take off simply because the religious officers ordered to arrest the defaulters, are themselves busy performing prayers at mosques, reported the New Straits Times (NST) today.

Therefore, the state’s religious authorities have decided to employ more female officers instead to carry out the job of nabbing the state’s men who give Friday prayers a miss.

The daily quoted an officer from the Terengganu Islamic Affairs and Malay Customs Council (Maidam) as saying: “At present, it is difficult to enforce the policy as male enforcement officers have to perform Friday prayers.

“So far, no offender has been arrested as our men have to perform prayers. When they receive a tip-off, they can only respond after Friday prayers.

“As such, only female officers can enforce the policy. Unfortunately, we are facing a shortage of female officers,” said the officer, who chose to remain anonymous.

On February 25 last year, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman announced that Muslim men who skipped Friday prayers would be paraded in a hearse on their way to a rehabilitation centre. The move, he said, was aimed at educating defaulters on the importance of prayers.

According to the Maidam officer however, the hearse ride punishment was not stipulated under the Shariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) (Terengganu) Enactment 2001.

Under the enactment, adult male Muslims who skip Friday prayers for three consecutive weeks without a valid reason, are subject to a fine of not more than RM1,000 or six months jail, or both, upon conviction.