Defamatory to call dog event organiser Christian or Shiah Muslim, lawyer says

Malay Mail
by IDA LIM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Accusations claiming Syed Azmi Alhabshi is Christian or a follower of the Muslim Shiah sect, deemed as deviant by Putrajaya, are false and defamatory, his lawyer Syahredzan Johan said today.

 

Syahredzan dismissed the need for his client to prove that he was a Muslim but said those who have defamed the organiser of the “I Want to Touch a Dog” event should stop all their attacks.

“There is nothing in Islam (that says) we cannot criticise something, but what we are saddened with is the fact that there are death threats and there are defamatory comments about the organiser and the people who are involved — saying things like ‘he’s a Shiah, he’s Christian, he’s trying to spread all these things, this is a program of liberalism’,” he told reporters today.

Those who made the allegedly defamatory claims against Syed Azmi are the ones who need to prove their false accusations, Syahredzan added, pointing out that they were attacking his client casually on Facebook even though they hardly knew him.

“Only because we want to defend what we see as the sanctity (of the religion), we defame others, is that correct?” the lawyer asked.

He added, however, that Syed Azmi had not decided whether to take legal action and sue anyone for now.

 

Earlier, Syed Azmi read out a press release apologising for any discomfort sparked by the event, maintaining that the event was only meant to help the public overcome their fear of dogs, and not promote liberalism or distort Islamic teachings.

Although Syed Azmi is not the sole organiser of the “I Want to Touch a Dog” event, which was carried out with the aid of around 10 to 15 other individuals, the youth was unfortunately the “face” of the one-off event and has had to face the brunt of criticisms, Syahredzan said.

Since then, Syed Azmi has been the target of hate-filled messages threatening to injure or kill him, forcing him to turn to the police and online regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for assistance.

Detractors have also spread rumours and allegations claiming that Syed Azmi is a covert Christian or a Shiah Muslim out to spread liberalism or alternative teachings.

Norhayati Ismail, 40, another organiser of the event, told reporters today that she has known Syed Azmi for a long time and that he is like any other Muslim who faithfully performs his prayers.

She said she has collaborated closely with Syed Azmi on numerous charity projects and that he was always involved in “anything that is a good cause”.

“This is the first time that he’s doing it with animals and I’m a bit saddened he got a lot of criticisms when his intention is really good, if you know what he wants,” the social activist told reporters here, saying that the dog-touching event was an awareness project on dogs.

It was sparked off from local filmmaker Jason Lim’s short movie on how a blind man faced challenges when appearing with his guide dog in public areas — such as buses and shopping malls, she said.

Norhayati also trotted off a list of previous joint projects with Syed Azmi, including the collection of winter clothing for those living in Syria, the collection of over 400 boxes of food for the poor during Ramadhan and the handing out of over 1,000 packets of rice to various organisations.

“We collect funds and we execute the projects. We do projects with the street people, orphanage, anything that is a good cause,” she said.

Syahredzan pointed to the “I Want to Touch a Dog” event organisers’ past community projects as proof of their good intentions, saying that the uproar over this event would not prevent them from carrying out similar charity projects for the society.

“This is not an event that was done with any agenda. This was for education, he said.

The “I Want to Touch a Dog” event at the Central Park in Bandar Utama, Selangor last Sunday drew nearly 200 volunteers and dog owners and gave Malay-Muslims the opportunity to pet canines, an animal that many in the community regard as culturally taboo.