Khalid Samad due to be sentenced for teaching Islam without a permit

PETALING JAYA: Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad is set to be sentenced Thursday at the Klang Syariah Court over a charge of teaching Islam without a permit.

The Parti Amanah Negara lawmaker may even lose his Parliamentary seat, depending on the severity of the sentence.

Khalid was charged in April 2012 by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) for teaching Islam without first obtaining the necessary credentials when speaking at a surau in Klang.

“In 2011, I went to Gaza, Palestine. When I came back, there was this surau which invited to me to give a speech on my trip. So I went and I was therefore charged with teaching Islam without a permit," he said.

Khalid said that during the trial he had highlighted that he had not been teaching anything about Islam but was merely talking about his trip to Palestine.

“But they said that all that is part and parcel of teaching Islam. So I was charged and found guilty,” he said.

He added that he had gone into mediation, asking for a lesser penalty in the sentencing.

The offence was allegedly committed at a surau in Taman Seri Sementa, Jalan Taman Seri Sementa, Kapar between 10pm and 11.50pm on Aug 16 2011.

The charge, under Section 119 (1) of the Selangor Islamic Law Administration Enactment 2003, carries a penalty of a maximum RM3,000 fine or maximum two years’ jail or both upon conviction.

However, under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, lawmakers can be disqualified from office if convicted and fined with more than RM2,000 or jailed a year or more.

Therefore, depending on the sentence, Khalid may see himself disqualified from his Shah Alam parliamentary seat.

When asked if he had any plans to appeal the decision, he said it depended on the sentence.

“If the sentence is very mild then I may not want to waste time. We just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow,” he said.