Nik Raina grateful after Jawi withdraws charge

That was the reaction of Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz after the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) withdrew a charge against the Borders book store manager today on the sale of a controversial Irshad Manji book.

"This is a really big surprise for me. Having battling this case for three years, I didn't think that this matter could ever be resolved. I thought that the chief Shariah prosecutor would just ignore the orders of the High Court and the Court of Appeal which had directed Jawi to withdraw their actions against me.

"Even if my lawyers warned Jawi, it would have no effect as they (Jawi) just wanted to make me a scapegoat," she said in a statement.

Apart from thanking Jawi director Paimuzi Yahya, she expressed her gratitude to her employers for their support during this ordeal, particularly Berjaya Corporation founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Berjaya Corporation CEO and chairman Datuk Sri Robin Tan, and Borders COO Yau Su Peng.

"I will make a special prayer to close this chapter in my life," she said.

Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insider today reported that Nik Raina's lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, had confirmed receiving a letter from Jawi stating they were dropping the prosecution against the 39-year-old manager.

"The letter was received dated May 11 and signed by chief shariah prosecutor Mohammad Adib Husain," the portal quoted Rosli as saying.

Jawi's letter came just before the week-long deadline expired, following a notice sent by Nik Raina's lawyers to the religious authority, threatening to initiate contempt proceedings if they didn't drop the case.

Nik Raina was arrested on May 30, 2012 and charged under Section 13 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 as 'spread and distribute' method to sell the book "Allah, Liberty and Love", which is said to have been banned by authorities.

She was charged in the Syariah High Court on June 19, 2012, and on March 22, 2014, the High Court gave a retrial opportunity to Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Borders book store owner.

However, on Dec 30, 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that Jawi had acted unfairly and in bad faith when it prosecuted Nik Raina.

But on March 12 thisyear, Jawi decided to send a notice of appeal against the decision of the Shariah Appeal Court.