KUALA LUMPUR: Former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin was charged at the Gombak Timur Lower Syariah Court yesterday with teaching matters related to the religion of Islam without tauliah (certification).
He then pleaded not guilty to the alleged offence committed at a house in Taman Sri Ukay, Ampang, between 8.10pm and 9.45pm on Nov 11.
Asri, 38, who is now a lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia, allegedly did not have the tauliah issued by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council.
He was represented by counsel Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman and Jamal Mohd Lokman.
Syarie chief prosecutor Abdul Shukor Abdul Hamid prosecuted.
The courtroom was packed with Asri's friends and supporters who had been in the court compound since 7am.
Among them were former Perlis menteri besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and Kulim Bandar Baharu member of parliament Zulkifli Noordin.
Shukor made an application to transfer the case to the Syariah High Court on several grounds, among them that it involved an influential person and the case would involve laws and procedures which required views and accurate interpretation by an experienced judge.
He said the prosecution had filed an affidavit on Nov 12 to have the case transferred.
Kamar Ainiah objected to the transfer, saying her client would lose one avenue to appeal.
"Our client will be deprived of his right to appeal to the Syariah High Court and Syariah Appeal Court.
"The prosecution's grounds that the accused is an influential person is not relevant," she said.
Syarie judge Wan Mahyuddin Wan Muhammad dismissed the prosecution's application to transfer the case.
"I will only allow it if the prosecution gives reasonable reasons, on grounds of public interest and not on individual interest.
"This case must be expedited. The transfer of the case will cause delays and it will be prejudicial to the accused."
Kamar Ainiah also objected to the charge saying that it was vague.
"Although it mentioned 'teaching matters related to the religion', it did not state the details on what exactly the matters were about.
"I want the prosecution to narrow down the scope of the charge as it can give rise to various interpretations."
Shukor replied that any amendment to the charge could be done during the trial.
Wan Mahyuddin then granted Asri bail of RM3,000 in two sureties and fixed Jan 5 for trial.
Asri's friends posted the bail.
Outside the court, Asri told reporters that he was interested to know how the case would be handled during the trial.