JUBOQ SAIFOOL A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE NEED TO BE DEFENDED MAIWP MISUSING RM63,650 LUNATIC ZAINOL ABIDEEN AKA MAHAGURU58′S TALE OF TWO DEMOCRACIES
Najib and Lunatic Zainol Abideen are forever proclaiming that Malaysia is an Islamic state. In this case both the accuser and the accused are Muslims. Why not invoke the shari’a? They did not, for the obvious reason that had it been invoked, both accused and accuser would have to be charged as there was no element of force.
Court: Oklahoma Ban On Islamic Law Unconstitutional
A proposed constitutional amendment that would ban Oklahoma courts from considering international or Islamic law discriminates against religions, and a Muslim community leader has the right to challenge its constitutionality, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
The court in Denver upheld U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange’s order blocking implementation of the amendment shortly after it was approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters in November 2010. Muneer Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, sued to block the law from taking effect, arguing that the Save Our State Amendment violated his First Amendment rights.
“This is an important reminder that the Constitution is the last line of defense against a rising tide of anti-Muslim bigotry in our society, and we are pleased that the appeals court recognized that fact,” Awad said. “We are also hopeful that this decision serves as a reminder to politicians wishing to score political points through fear-mongering and bigotry.”
The amendment read, in part: “The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or Sharia law.”
State Sen. Anthony Sykes, who led the Senate effort to get the measure on the ballot, said Tuesday he would continue to fight to lift the injunction.
“The federal appeals court in Denver attempted to silence the voice of 70 percent of Oklahoma voters,” Sykes said in a statement. “At some point we have to decide whether this is a country of by and for the judges, or of by and for the people. How far will the people let them go? This ruling is right along with legalizing abortion and forced busing of school children.”
Backers argued that the amendment intended to ban all religious laws, that Islamic law was merely named as an example and that it wasn’t meant as a specific attack on Muslims. The court disagreed.
“That argument conflicts with the amendment’s plain language, which mentions Sharia law in two places,” the appeals court opinion said.
The court also noted that the backers of the amendment acknowledged they did not know of any instance when an Oklahoma court applied Sharia law or used the legal precepts of other countries.
Awad argued that the ban on Islamic law would likely affect every aspect of his life as well as the execution of his will after his death. The appeals court pointed out that Awad made a “strong showing” of potential harm.
“When the law that voters wish to enact is likely unconstitutional, their interests do not outweigh Mr. Awad’s in having his constitutional rights protected,” the court said.
The case now returns to federal court in Oklahoma City to determine the constitutionality of the proposed amendment.
“My office will continue to defend the state in this matter and proceed with the merits of the case,” Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement.
DISMISSING DATUK SERI JAMIL KHIR BAHAROM’S DENIAL THAT HE HAD ABUSED ZAKAT FUNDS, PKR SAYS IT WILL LODGE A REPORT AGAINST THE MINISTER TOMORROW WITH DOCUMENTS TO DISPROVE HIS DEFENCE.
PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad distributed to the media today the documents showing that Jamil Khir, along with two senior officials from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP), had used RM63,650 in alms money to settle legal costs incurred when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim named them as respondents in his 2010 qazaf application in the Syariah Court.
The first document is a payment voucher from MAIWP for RM32,150 dated April 29, 2010, to a law firm as “payment of legal fees for the case of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim vs Shahsuddin Hussain, Datuk Che Mat Che Ali and Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom”.
It is clearly stated on the voucher that the funds had been channelled from MAIWP’s zakat fund.
Jamil Khir is minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs while Che Mat is the MAIWP director and Shahsuddin, MAIWP’s chief prosecutor.
According to Nik Nazmi, the payment voucher was revealed to PKR by a MAIWP official last year and the matter was then raised in Parliament in June by Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution.
“We then brought the case to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for further action. The PAC then requested an investigation by the Auditor-General,” Nik Nazmi said.
The Seri Setia assemblyman also distributed copies of a letter by Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang to PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid dated November 21, 2011, confirming that RM63,650 of zakat funds were used to settle the trio’s legal fees.
In Ambrin’s investigation report attached to the letter, the A-G confirmed that Che Mat had first approved an interim payment of RM31,500 from MAIWP’s “general resource allocation for legal services” on January 28, 2010.
“This payment was approved on February 9, 2010, through voucher No. 2010B01304, to use zakat allocation first as the government grant was yet to be received,” Ambrin wrote in his report.
Ambrin also validated MAIWP’s second payment voucher for RM32,150 on April 29, 2010, explaining that it was to settle the remaining legal fees incurred in the qazaf case.
He said MAIWP had received its government grant of RM700,000 in June 22 that year, and in December, the council used money from the grant to repay the RM63,650 it had withdrawn from the zakat funds.
“In his denial, Jamil Khir never touched on the A-G’s report confirming that two payments — one in February 2010 and another in April — were made using zakat funds.
“According to the A-G, the money was replaced only in December, six months after it was used,” said Nik Nazmi.
He said although the funds were repaid later, the trio’s act of advancing money from the zakat fund to settle their personal legal fees violated the Penal Code.
“PKR views seriously the abuse of such an important Islamic institution. I will lodge a report at 11am tomorrow at the Dang Wangi police station and produce these documents,” he said.
When denying the allegations last year, Jamil Khir had insisted that he had paid his qazaf legal fees through a RM700,000 special fund allocated by Putrajaya and not using zakat funds.
In his statement carried on Bernama Online on December 31, the minister had made no reference to allegations that the alms money was first used to settle the fees.readmore http://muslimmalaysia786.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/juboq-saifool-a-national-security-issue-need-to-be-defended-maiwp-misusing-rm63650-lunatic-zainol-abideen-ak
