August 14, 2010
“That is the message a court should send out to the fanatics but alas, judges such as Komathy are a rare breed in our judiciary. The reasoning in other very important cases cannot even stand the test of logic of ordinary citizens, let alone those well-versed in the laws. I am, of course, referring to the many judgments of the Appeals and Federal courts, which are too many to speak of. But that is another matter”.–Anon
“A beautifully written verdict by Sessions Court judge SM Komathy Suppiah. My utmost respect and admiration for her display of impeccable integrity, fairness and morality. It is now up to the infamous judges of the higher courts to follow likewise or to do completely otherwise.
Judges with integrity and competence like Komathy will never be made Appeals or Supreme Court judge. Certainly not under the rule of a corrupt government as she is no asset to the powers-that-be, just a stumbling block”.–Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal@www. malaysiakini.com
Church Arson: Brothers sent to 5 years in gaol
by Hafiz Yatim @malaysiakini.com
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today found the two brothers guilty of setting fire to the Metro Tabernacle Church near Taman Melawati in January.
Judge SM Komathy Suppiah said the defence had failed to raise any doubts and the evidence presented by the two was inconsistent.
“The testimony by their friend that the two were involved in burning rubbish is also in doubt. It is a fabrication and afterthought.”
Following mitigation, the court sentenced the two to five years jail each.
The court allowed their application for a stay of execution but raised their bail from RM10,000 to RM20,000 each.
The two, brothers Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 24 (above) and Raja Muhammad Idzham (below), 20 were jointly charged with mischief by fire under Section 436 of the Penal Code.
The said incident happened on the early morning of Jan 7. The punishment for such an offence is up to 20 years jail and a fine.
They were ordered to enter their defence on July 30 while a third accused – Azuwan Shah Ahmad, 23 – was acquitted when Komathy ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against him.
While submitting earlier today, counsel for the brothers Hanif Hashim said there was doubt over the case as the teacher claimed to have seen the arsonists did not have a clear view of the perpetrators.
“The actual perpetrators are still out there,” he said. “My clients were merely arrested at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.”
‘Appaling, despicable’
DPP Azlina Rasdi said the testimony by the brothers’ friend that the two were burning a stack of rubbish when they burnt themselves was merely ‘a creation’ to save the two accused.
In sentencing the duo, Komathy said individuals who commit arson attacks on places of worship deserve little or no mercy from the courts.
She said offences of the kind were ‘reprehensible and egregious’.
“This court is bound to ensure that a deterrent custodial sentence is imposed on offenders who desecrate religion or religious beliefs to ensure peace and harmony in a multi-racial country like ours.”
“The imposition of a lenient sentence would not send a strong and clear message that this kind of offence would not be tolerated and condoned”, she added.
Describing the act of torching the Metro Tabernacle Church as ‘appalling and despicable’, Komathy said it struck at the foundation of a civilised and peace-loving society.
“One of the tenets of the Rukunegara is Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (Belief in God) but you have set ablaze a Home of God.
“Leaders from all segments of society came forward and condemned your actions. Fortunately, the police were able to maintain law and order despite actions which were inflammatory in more ways than one,” she told the brothers.
Komathy then addressed the accused’s father and said while it was painful for young persons to be incarcerated but for offences such as the present one, considerations of compassion must yield to those of public interest.”The message from this court is clear. Do not play with fire.”
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
On appeal these two criminals will get off with a light slap on their wrists. Dont you worry . Ketuanan Melayu will prevail.
The two bigots should be asked to do community work, like sweeping drains and the streets in the glare of publicity so that it will be a lesson to similarly inclined young Malaysians. Their parents should take the entire blame for what happened to Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim and his brother,Raja Muhammad Idzham.
We must learn to accept and respect our differences and learn to exist side by side in peace and harmony. Parents should not create bigots as they will become a menace to society. Don’t play with fire, as Judge Somathy elegantly put.–Din Merican
Had it been the the other way round – a mosque or surau was burnt down by non-Malays – the punishment meted would have been swift and the sentences more severe. Utusan Malaysia would go berserk with its fiery editorials. That’s Bolehland for you.
Tok Cik,
Sometimes, it is convenient for Malaysian parents to blame “other people” (government, school or community) for their own failures. The human character is fully formed by the age of 5 , that is before a person is sent to school. That means that the nurturing process starts in the home and parents play a critical role as models of proper and civilised conduct.
It is time for parents to take full responsibility for their children’s conduct. The 5 year sentence on the two Rajas is a heavy indictment on their parents. I am not at all sympathetic towards them.
What mitigating factors? None. You burn public or private property and you deserve what is coming to you. The Judge is right when she said, “don’t play with fire!” –Din Merican
Two juveniles out on a frolic, who couldn’t understand what light my fire or paint the town red means are not the problem. It is the system of education, a value system, a culturally engineered response, if you will, which seeks to legitmize arson and such-like anti-social behaviour as an expression of one race’s primordial fear for anything different and to them therefore incomprehensible. At other times it is xenophobia.
This is symptomatic of the times Malaysians are going through.
In sentencing the duo, the judge said individuals who commit arson attacks on places of worship deserve little or no mercy from the courts. Offences of the kind were ‘reprehensible and egregious’.
The judge missed a great opportunity at addressing the nation on a core constitutional issue. I would have liked her to address the issue thus:
We are a nation of immigrants and we take pride in our diversity. Article 13 of our Constitution says very clearly: ‘Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion’. This is not to be taken lightly. It guarantees the freedom of Malaysians to worship, one of the fundamental liberties upon which we hope to build this young nation. From the different colors and materials represented by the different races and different faiths, this country hopes to weave a national fabric which could then serve to bind Malaysians together.
Your act, far from being a cry for help for an understanding of our differences, is a well thought out action to set this country back by some forty years.
This time a church was torched. The next time it could be a mosque or a madrasah.
In this case there was no life lost but only property damage. Had it not been for your youth, I would have given you the maximum allowed under the law as a deterrent to others. Let this be a lesson to all that we take our laws and our constitution very seriously.
That’s very well crafted, Bean.You should have been on the bench. But could you dispense such judgment had you sat on the bench instead of Komathy?
The whole episode speaks volume of the mentality of a vocal majority who are taught to hate and distrust anyone professing to be different. It’s an education system that has gone wrong.
It brings to mind of a similar incident way back in the 70s when two Malay youths destroyed statues of Hindu deities at a temple in Kuala Kubu Bahru. both too received prison sentences.
Kudos to the Umnoputras for having sown the seed of destruction in the minds of a peace-loving community. I bear witness to this.
“That’s very well crafted, Bean.You should have been on the bench. But could you dispense such judgment had you sat on the bench instead of Komathy?” Tok Cik
Why not? I have the cojones.
U.S. President Obama says Muslims have the right to practice their own religion. I have yet to hear our Prime Minister say Christians have the right to practice theirs.
Mongkut Bean,
I have Christian friends who tell me that they have great difficulty to obtain land and approvals to build their churches. They are not even asking the Government to give them the land FOC or funds to build their places of worship. So what these religious groups do is to rent shop houses to have the opportunity to congregate on Sundays and other occasions in the Christian calender.
No discrimination we are told but the delays in getting land and building plans approved for this purpose constitute discrimination in another form. But it is different in America. So I have taken your posting for this thread. –Din Merican
Mr Pink Lips is giving lip service to the country’s guarantee of religious freedom.
Article 11 (3) of our Federal Constitution:
Every religious group has the right
(a) to manage its own religious affairs
(b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and
(c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.
Which part of “every religious group” does he not understand??
Article 11 (1) of our Federal Constitution:
Which part of “every person has the right to profess and practice his religion” does he not understand”??
UMNO’s and PAS’s and PKR’s narrow interpretation of Article 11(1) has denied the right of some to choose their own religion.
Many Muslims who have converted to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and other religions lead “double lives”, hiding their new faith from friends and family.
General interpretation about the freedom of religion as described in the constitution in Malaysia is that a person has a right to practice his or her religion freely. This freedom does not grant a person a right to change his or her religion “at a whim and fancy”[14]. For example a Muslim who wants to convert to another religion must get an explicit permission from a syariah court. The syariah courts rarely grant such requests, except in cases where a person has actually lived his or her whole adult life as a person of different religion, and only wants to change the official documents to reflect this fact. The Islamic interpretation of the situation is that only the syariah courts can decide who is a Muslim and who is not. A person does not have such freedom, and so cannot have a say in the judgement given in a syariah court.
The Lina Joy case challenged this view of the situation by taking the problem of apostasy to the Federal Court in 2007. Lina Joy lost the case and was denied identification as a Christian on her identification card. This cleared the situation about the overlapping areas of jurisdiction between the Islamic and the secular courts in Malaysia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Malaysia
Hmm.., serious stuff huh, guys?
To the ‘church’ at Metro Tabernacle:
“Forgive them, for they knew not what they were doing.”
To the Accused and Imprisoned:
“You really didn’t know what you were doing! Dickheads!!”
To the Christians and those who deem themselves so:
“Be of good Cheer, Charity(Agape) and Hope! For tomorrow we die!” and,
“Remember Perpetua and Felicitas – Perpetual Felicity! INRI”
Oh btw, before i get carried away, no worries about the Christians in general. They are sheep with transient horns, which only grow during elections.. If they happen to be Chinapek Christians, it’s sometimes tipped with strychnine, except for some big corporate players. They might not gore anyone in particular, but they make bad lamb-chops.
Well this is positive indeed. It takes a “Non moslem” ( as always,they are more in harmony with God’s command in this life then the moslems are right now) to finally tell the Malaysian that everyone has the right to seek God and the right to prayer in whatever manisfested form they wish to do so. (Echoes the Koranic provision of , there can be no compulsion in religion). It is then God’s job description ot confirm they seeking not ours.
Judge Komathy Suppiah referred instead to the Rukun Negara, which incidentally is a carbon copy of the Indonesian ‘Pancasila’ (philosophical foundation for the Indonesian state), to its first principle i.e. belief in the ‘one and only God’.
It would be more meaningful for the judge to have referred especially to the country’s Federal Constitution which guarantees the right of all Malayaisans to worship — and to the supremacy of our Constitution: Article 4.
Any law inconsistent with this Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, void. A direct reference to shariah law which seeks to oust civil law based on the English common law.