Aziz Bari: I did not attack the Sultan

By G Manimaran
Bahasa Malaysia Editor

October 21, 2011

Over 700 UIA students held a protest at UIA’s Gombak campus this morning demanding that the constitutional expert be reinstated. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — As pressure grows for the International Islamic University of Malaysia (UIA) to lift Dr Abdul Aziz Bari’s suspension, the law professor has insisted he did not criticise the Selangor Sultan.

Abdul Aziz said today he was fulfilling his role as an academic when he said earlier this month that the Sultan had intervened in an “unusual and inconsistent” manner on the church raid by religious authorities.

“I did not attack the Selangor Sultan. As an academic, I have a role to inform the public,” he said, adding that he would reply to a show-cause letter from the university on Tuesday after he has met his lawyer.

Over 700 UIA students held a protest at the Gombak campus this morning demanding that the constitutional expert be reinstated.

Lecturers from UIA and other universities as well as politicians have also backed Abdul Aziz over the suspension that came after Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs had urged that action be taken against the don.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had decreed recently that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had found evidence of proselytisation by non-Muslims during a dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on August 3 but said it was insufficient for further legal action.

Abdul Aziz’s statement that the intervention was “unusual and inconsistent” and not done in line with Islamic teachings had caused a furore among BN MPs in Parliament.

Although a police report has been lodged against him, the outspoken academic has decided against apologising for his remarks, insisting he had not meant to challenge the Sultan.