PETALING JAYA: The police have arrested the boyfriend of a woman who recently courted criticism over a performance that allegedly insulted Islam.
Police secretary Deputy Comm Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said the boyfriend of the woman was arrested on Sunday (July 10) by the Classified Criminal Investigation Unit of Bukit Aman.
The suspect has been remanded for three days until Wednesday (July 13).
Noorsiah also said police have applied to extend the remand order on the woman, which ends Tuesday (July 12).
“The investigation papers will be immediately referred to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) with a proposed charge,” DCP Noorsiah said in a statement on Monday (July 11),
The woman was initially remanded for three days at the Brickfields police headquarters from Saturday (July 9).
She is being probed by the Bukit Aman Special Investigation Unit under the Penal Code for causing disunity and spurring hatred among the people, as well as under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for misusing network facilities.
The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) conducted its own preliminary investigation into the viral video of the woman’s routine, which allegedly insulted Islam, at a comedy club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Jawi director Datuk Mohd Ajib Ismail said the investigation was carried out by its enforcement division.
Under the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997, those found guilty of insulting or causing contempt against Islam can be fined up to RM3,000 or imprisoned for up to two years, or both.
Last weekend, a 54-second video circulated on social media, showing a woman claiming to have memorised 15 juz of the Quran and then discarding her tudung and baju kurung, leaving her in a low-cut top and short skirt.
Following criticisms, she and her partner appeared on YouTube on Saturday to interact with social media users.
On Sunday (July 10) DBKL announced the temporary suspension of the comedy club pending investigation of the premises' licence.
Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said the government would not tolerate any activities deemed offensive to sensitivities on religion, race and the country’s sovereignty.
“DBKL has conducted further investigations into the licence of the premises concerned and taken immediate action to suspend its operations,” he said in a statement.
The venue, Crackhouse Comedy Club, has since strongly condemned the video and lodged a police report over the matter at the TTDI police station.
Petaling Jaya live music venue Merdekarya has spoken up in support of the club, saying that the woman had also caused trouble on its premises,
Renowed comedians Harith Iskander and Douglas Lim said the woman’s religion-laced act does not reflect stand-up comedy.
Veteran actor Datuk Afdlin Shauki Aksan also felt DBKL’s shuttering of the venue was unfair as the incident had occurred during an open mic night.
He also said that venues such as Crackhouse had contributed a lot to the entertainment scene in the country, despite it not being profitable.
“Places like this need to stay open. Crackhouse is a place where many stand-up comedians learnt their art,” he said in a Facebook post.
