The nation has lost a brave figure who held on to his principles, no matter what came his way, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in mourning the passing of academician Kassim Ahmad.
Taking to his blog, Mahathir said he was extremely saddened by Kassim's death.
"I am of the opinion that he was not accorded justice, as required by Islam. This is because he was alleged to have gone against the hadith (prophetic traditions).
"The fact is, he was just like other hadith interpreters, who rejected hadiths that are given without proper studies and were not authentic.
"His (Kassim's) thinking was extremely sharp, and the Malays, particularly, have lost a figure who could offer great insights into the problems facing the community. Read his writing before judging him," wrote Mahathir, adding that he would pray for the octogenarian's soul to be blessed by Allah.
Kassim, 84, (photo) died about 10am this morning at the Kulim Hospital, where he had been in a coma since yesterday, due to lung problems.
He is survived by his wife, son, two daughters and 11 grandchildren.
Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, who represented Kassim in his long-drawn syariah and judicial review cases, described him as a great Malaysian.
According to Rosli, Kassim's health deteriorated due to the frequent commutes he had to make to the courtrooms in Kuala Lumpur to face his charges, from Kedah.
Kassim was charged in the Syariah High Court in Putrajaya in 2014 with three counts of deriding Islam and a charge of breaching a fatwa in a talk he gave in Putrajaya three years ago.
Following the talk, Kassim was arrested by Jawi at his house in Kulim, Kedah, taken to Penang and escorted on a flight to KLIA in Sepang, Selangor, where he was detained for more than 24 hours without legal representation.
Kassim challenged his arrest and the charges against him in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur but failed. The court ruled that his remedy could only be found in the Syariah court.
On appeal to the Court of Appeal, both the octogenarian's arrest at his home in Kulim and subsequently being brought to Kuala Lumpur to be charged were declared illegal and the arrest was also ruled to be null and void.- Mkini
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