Zamihan willing to seek audience with rulers

PETALING JAYA: Islamic preacher Zamihan Mat Zin, who is facing a charge under the Sedition Act, is willing to seek an audience with the two sultans who have directly rebuked him over his recent controversial statement.

The Jakim officer told theSun that it was never his intention to go against the royalty in the country and that he is in trouble only because the controversy surrounding him was played up by some quarters.

“If there is room and opportunity for me to seek an audience with any of the rulers, I would love to. Because I have never had any problems with the sultans.

“But if this room and opportunity is not present, then I leave it to God. I am not looking for money or glamour, I am just an akidah-fighter, a fight that will never end until the judgement day,” Zamihan was quoted as saying by the daily.

Zamihan created a stir last week when he criticised the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar for having rebuked the operator of the controversial Muslims-only laundrette in Muar, Johor last month.

The video of his comments which he made at a religious talk at Masjid Tengku Ampuan Jemaah in Shah Alam on Oct 8, soon went viral and received wide coverage by the media as well.

Addressing the congregation there, Zamihan said Sultan Ibrahim’s order for the laundrette to cease its Muslim-only policy was not acceptable.

He also made derogatory remarks about the hygiene of Chinese Malaysians.

Following the speech, Sultan Ibrahim criticised Zamihan as well as the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) for hiring him. The Johor ruler also ordered the state religious department to cut all ties with Jakim.

Yesterday, the Sultan of Selangor issued an order in which he revoked the religious teaching credentials of the controversial preacher.

Descibing Zamihan’s speech on Oct 7 at a mosque in Shah Alam as “racist” and saying that it “lacked manners”, a statement from the Selangor palace said Zamihan had also gone overboard in criticising the royal institution in a mosque with royal status.

Zamihan, who is also Malaysia Ahli Sunnah Waljamaah Organisation (Aswaja) president, said he accepted Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s decision to revoke his credentials as “it is the ruler’s right to do so”.

“I accept (the decision). There is no need to feel weird about it as this is all Allah’s will,” he told theSun. - FMT