KUANG, Nov 7 —The widow of the founder of the outlawed Al-Arqam movement, Hatijah Aam or better known as Ummu Jah and her 17 followers today pleaded guilty at the Gombak Barat Lower Syariah Court here to a charge of reviving the sect.
Syarie Judge Kamarulzaman Ali released all of them on a one-year good behavior bond and ordered them not to get involved in any activities involving Al-Arqam, which was banned in 1994, or which contradict Islamic teaching.
He also ordered them to undergo 500 hours of moral rehabilitation course under the supervision of the Dakwah division of Selangor Islamic Religious Department.
Ummu Jah was also fined RM1,000 in default 14 days’ jail after she pleaded guilty to a charge of publishing a book on deviant teachings.
In his judgment, Kamarulzaman said the guilty plea made by all the accused had saved the court’s time.
“However, the feeling of regrets and the pledge not to make the same mistake need not to be recited, but to be honoured because as long as we are still alive, we still have the chance to improve ourselves,” he said, adding that the court also opined that imprisonment and fine were not the good ways to punish a person.
Ummu Jah and her followers, comprising seven men and 10 women aged between 18 and 58, committed the offence at No. 316, Jalan Desa 9/6, Bandar Country Homes, Rawang near here between Jan 1, 2008 and May 15, this year.
They were charged under Section 12© and Section 16(1) of the Selangor Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1995, which carry a maximum jail term of three years and fine of RM3,000, or both, upon conviction.
Ummu Jah and her followers were arrested at the KL International Airport upon returning from Saudi Arabia last May. — Bernama
