Badar squad: We will abide by the laws

PETALING JAYA: Vigilante moral policing group Badar squad head Azhar Mohamad says it is unfair for the authorities and the public to judge them as an illegal society which breaks laws to stop immorality among Muslims.

“We have a duty to prevent immorality but we will abide by the laws of the country.

“I announced on my Facebook of my wish to register Badar squad with the Registrar of Societies (RoS) because there are many demands from Muslim parents around Sungai Petani where I stay that their teenage children were being openly promiscuous and even frequenting the budget hotels in the town for immoral activities,” said Azhar.

The group became news last year when Azhar was arrested and later fined for being part of an illegal society.

Two days ago, Azhar said he intended to register the squad with RoS as an NGO and continue to be moral police.

The police, however, issued a warning to the group not to take laws into their own hands.

Azhar said it was his duty to help the authorities who do not have enough manpower to stop these immoral activities among Muslim youths.

“We are not arresting the couples but we are merely guiding and advising them from committing sins,” he said.

Azhar also claimed that when the squad was active, there was less vice among Muslims.

“They were afraid to commit sin but we have not conducted any raids or activities after my arrest in January,” he said.

Azhar claimed that he received support for his activities from personnel in the police force and religious authorities, who felt that he was complementing their work.

“We do not intend to break the laws.

“It is wrong for the police to call us an illegal society.

“I admit we did catch some couples before January, but since my arrest, we stopped all activities as ordered by the authorities,” said Azhar, who served in the army for 22 years.

He added that those who described his work as “unIslamic” not to judge him as he was only doing so because there was a demand.

“I only brought the couples who were committing khalwat (close proximity) to the mosque and then, when their parents agree, they are brought to the cemetery for counselling by our members.

“We do not force or drag anyone. Our good intentions, with the unnecessary limelight, have been misconstrued and I am now having second thoughts (of registering Badar squad with RoS),” he said.

Azhar added that he was not being funded by anyone and everything they received was from well-wishers.