Berjaya Books to JAWI: What else do we need to do?

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Borders bookstore manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz and her family are devastated that the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department (JAWI) filed a last-minute appeal to overturn a ruling that it had acted illegally and unconstitutionally by prosecuting her.

In a statement today, the management of Berjaya Books, the company behind the bookstore here, voiced its disappointment that the Islamic authority had ignored its plea for compassion against Nik Raina.

“It has been 32 months since the raid of our store in the Gardens Mall and the charging of Nik in the Shariah Court.

“Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have handed down decisions in our favour. What else do we need to do in order to defend our employee’s right to work?” Berjaya Books chief operating officer Yau Su Peng asked.

JAWI filed for leave of appeal two days ago, just in time to make the 30-day deadline to appeal the Court of Appeal’s December 30 ruling in favour of Borders bookstore branch manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz.

Borders had written to JAWI after the bookstore’s victory at the Court of Appeal last December 30, asking the authority to drop the charge.

In JAWI’s application, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan urged the apex court to consider whether a civil action can be used to review the prosecution of a criminal case, especially when the offence is “against the precepts of Islam.”

He also questioned whether it is possible to take action under Shariah law against a corporate entity that is “incapable of professing a religion”, and whether action by a religious authority that leads to prosecution in the Shariah Court can be challenged in the civil court.

Following JAWI’s latest move, Nik Raina has no choice but to wait until the entire process is over before she finds out if she can finally get a Shariah charge against her dropped.

On June 19, 2012, Nik Raina was charged under Section 13 (1) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act for allegedly selling and distributing a book that is contrary to the Islamic laws. If convicted, she can be fined up to RM3,000 or jailed up to two years, or both.

On December 30 last year, the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier High Court decision against JAWI, unanimously ruling that JAWI had acted unconstitutionally when it seized copies of a book during a raid on the Borders bookstore branch where Nik Raina is the manager, three weeks before it was officially banned.