KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Putrajaya today directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to seek guidance from local religious authorities in its probe on the controversial Aidilfitri dog video.
“The issue raised here could be very sensitive to a majority of our citizens... we must see the background and get views of religious experts because I understand there are several differing views,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Astro and TM partnership event here.
The minister acknowledged that the video was created three years ago but pointed out that once any content is published online it would continue to remain accessible to Internet users.
“The essential and most important part in this case is to investigate the individual’s real intention whether she intends to state her background as an animal trainer or to insult the Muslim religion and such,” he said.
He later said the matter was still under investigation and declined to issue any premature conclusion.
In the 105-second video reposted on YouTube on Tuesday, Maznah Mohd Yusof is seen walking and bathing her three dogs as the “Takbir Raya”, or Muslim call to prayer traditionally reserved for the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, plays in the background.
The juxtaposition appeared to be a reference to the wudhu, or ablution performed by Muslims before prayer; dogs are also considered unclean by adherents of the predominant faith in Malaysia.
Maznah has since been arrested and is currently serving out a two-day remand, which was obtained by the Johor police today.
According to her lawyer N. Surendran, the dog trainer has also been questioned by the MCMC.
She is being investigated for “causing disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will, or prejudicing, etc., the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.”” under section 298A of the Penal Code and section 4 of the Sedition Act.
After the video started making its rounds on the Internet, local news site Mynewshub.com quoted Chetz as saying that she made the video in 2010 to show that dogs are not “haram” (forbidden) as widely believed, and that Muslims could keep canines as pets.
“Dogs are not ‘haram’; if they are wet, just ‘samak’,” she was quoted as saying.
“Samak” is the ritual cleansing performed by Muslims when they come into contact with items considered ritually unclean, of which wet dogs are considered to be by some followers of the faith.
Maznah had also told news site Free Malaysia Today in a 2011 interview that she follows the Shafie school of thought in Islam that does not deem dogs as “haram”, but merely requires believers to cleanse themselves after touching a wet dog.
Maznah’s arrest comes after sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee were charged recently under the Penal Code and Sedition Act for posting a mock “Selamat Berbuka Puasa” (breaking of fast) greeting on their Facebook page that showed them eating “bak kut teh”, a soupy pork dish. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork.
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