What’s Jawi’s excuse for acting like a spoiled brat?

The really big question that I have for the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) is why they have been so adamant about pursuing Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz for the past three years.

Three years ago, Jawi raided a Borders store and seized copies of Canadian writer Irshad Manji's book “Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta”. The book, translated into Malay, was banned but the ban was actually only made six days after the raid.

Unable to charge the owners of store because they only have jurisdiction over Muslims, they decided to charge the store manager, Nik Raina, who was the only Muslim available.

Of course, this was all so dodgy that in December last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that the search and seizure done by Jawi was unlawful. Thank God because Nik Raina could have been jailed for up to two years.

But last week, Jawi, probably feeling very sore from a bruised ego, decided to seek an appeal to the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal’s decision. And so Nik Raina is sucked back into a battle which isn't even hers.

So why is Jawi pushing on with a case that every single person in Malaysia (and even the court) sees as an injustice? Do they believe that because they are a religious authority, they are divine?

Can't they live with the fact that they made a big mistake and now they just have to apologise for what has happened and promise never to repeat it? The court isn't even asking them to pay for damages.

Do they have to act like a big bully and pick on a small individual? Are they like a spoiled brat who feels like he is always right and things always have to go his way or else?

Jawi is a religious authority, an organisation that should be looked up to to defend Islam. But all they have done is to pull down their reputation in the eyes of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

For Jawi to act the way they are is just an embarrassment to themselves. I for one am embarrassed for them for what they did, and I'm sure many out there feel the same way.

Nik Raina was an employee and had no role in the decisions made by the top management of the bookstore on what books their stores are to sell. And even then, the book hadn't even been banned when the raid was done.

Not only that, I find it ridiculous that the original English version of the book “Allah, Liberty and Love” had already been on sale in Malaysia a year before and was never banned.

Now why would the authorities think that the English version is okay but the Malay version isn't? I guess they think that Malay readers are less intelligent than English readers, huh?

Jawi reminds me of myself thirty years ago when I was seven years old. If my brother got a new toy, I just had to have to a new toy as well. It didn't matter what toy it was, I just had to have one for the sake of having one.

If I didn't get my toy, I would throw a tantrum. But hey, I was seven years old. I was a small child barely past the toddler stage. That's my valid excuse. What is Jawi’s excuse? – March 20, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.