Selangor MB welcomes probe on Nurul Izzah's statement

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has thrown his support behind the Selangor Islamic Religious Department's (Jais) investigation against Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar as this will help clarify the controversy.

"We (Selangor government) support the (Jais) investigation... It is good for Muslims to sit down and have a meeting together," Abdul Khalid, who is state exco for Islamic affairs, said at a press conference after chairing the Selangor executive council meeting yesterday.

The MB said there has been varying interpretation to Nurul Izzah's statement, such as that by Malay daily Utusan Malaysia's front page report which insinuated that Nurul Izzah's statement encouraged apostasy amongst Muslims.

"I found that certain newspapers interpreted (Nurul Izzah's) statement in different ways. Utusan saw the statement as ‘usaha kenerakaan' (the path towards hell)," he lamented.

In a press statement issued later, Abdul Khalid praised Nurul Izzah for agreeing to meet with Jais to explain her statement as he is confident that she had made the statement in good faith.

"It is an obvious fact that no Muslim wants his or her Muslim counterparts to apostate. Muslims have the responsibility to take care on other Muslims," he said.

No compulsion

Last Saturday, Nurul Izzah courted controversy by saying there should be no compulsionin Islam, even for Malays, when replying to a question in a forum.

She, however, had stopped short of saying that Malays should be legally granted religious freedom, adding she was bound by "the prevailing views" on the matter.

The MP later denied that her statement encourages Muslims to renounce Islam (murtad).

Even so, her statement prompted various Muslim leaders, including politicians from both sides of the divide, to come out either in support or against the PKR vice-president.

Subsequently, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shahwas quoted by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) chairperson Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa as having expressed regret over Nurul Izzah's statement.

Two days ago, Jais director Marzuki Husin reportedly said that the department would take action against Nurul Izzah if it had more information regarding her statement.