KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Officers who interrupted a Hindu wedding Sunday will be disciplined if found to have violated its code of conduct, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) said.

The state Islamic agency said it is investigating fully the controversy in which its religious enforcers had gatecrashed a marriage ceremony at a Hindu temple in Taman Sri Aman, Petaling Jaya last weekend and taken away the bride who had a Muslim name.

“In a series of top management meetings, officers have been told that they must first notify and get approval from their superiors in Jais and the state exco before carrying out any enforcement action in religious places outside of Islam,” said the statement, issued yesterday.

“The Selangor Islamic Religious Department views this matter seriously and will not hesitate to take the necessary action against any officer found guilty and were insubordinate,” the statement added.

Jais’ statement came hot on the heels of an order by the Selangor government to help the allegedly Muslim bride, Zarinah Abdul Majid, change her religious status from Muslim to Hindu.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said Jais had already been ordered “to assist her in resolving the matter”, since she has never been a practising Muslim.

Khalid said it was not proper for state religious authorities to have barged in and stopped the wedding ceremony.

“According to Jais, it was not a raid, According to the press, it was a raid. According to us it is an embarrassment.

A wedding is supposed to be a great occasion. They shouldn’t have spoiled the wedding,” Khalid said.

On Sunday, religious authorities detained Zarinah in the midst of her Hindu wedding ceremony at a temple in Shah Alam, on suspicion that she, as a Muslim, was marrying a non-Muslim according to non-Muslim rites.

Zarinah had claimed that she and her siblings were secretly converted by her Muslim convert father when they were children, but they have long been practising Hindus since their father divorced their mother and abandoned the family over 20 years ago.

Jais deputy director Ahmad Zaki Arshad was earlier reported to have said they were investigating the case under Section 10 of the Shariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995, for insulting or bringing disrepute to Islam.

Ahmad Zaki, however, was later reported to have denied claims that they had raided the wedding, saying that they had only acted on public complaints and carried out a routine check as she had a Muslim name.