Ustaz Ramlang Porigi getting a load off his chest: “I was ordered to witness Saiful’s oath… This sort of oath should have been undertaken in the presence of both parties.”
0010: Anwar makes a reference to Nalla’s former driver’s sworn statement re: Najib. Even the Hindus are now getting into the sumpah act, he observes. How come none of the Chinese are swearing, he jokes…
He highlights a house in Permatang Pauh which has 100 voters.
2350: Anwar arrives to chants of “Reformasi! Takbir! Allahu Akhbar!” He says journalists from around the world are here to cover the by-election. He condemns the racial tactics used in the campaign. He says he is accused of being an agent of everyone – Jews, Americans, Chinese… He asks the Malays to reject corrupt BN leaders and not blame other races such as the Chinese or others. The helicopter is back! Anwar mocks the 15-sen oil price reduction. He recalls his ordeal in the past while the crowd listens in rapt attention. Now he mocks the BN leaders’ sumpah antics.
2330: I meet a Penanti-based blogger and he predicts a majority of 10,000-15,000. A ceramah speaker goes one better, predicting a 20,000-majority. He says they are better prepared to detect phantom voters if they turn up. “We will make sure the election is clean.” The same speaker says they are warning Khairy to retract his statement that the PKR campaign is funded by America or else they will sue him. He adds that they caught people – allegedly Kepala Batas Umno supporters – putting up misleading banners. “Campaign properly and talk about the real issues, don’t resort to such underhand tactics,” he urges.
2315: Ustaz Ramlang Porigi is now speaking. He is an imam at the Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan, one of those who witnessed Saiful’s oath. He wants to get something off his chest and goes on to explain what really happened on the day when Saiful swore he was sodomised.
Ramlang says he was ordered (diarahkan) to become a witness to Saiful’s swearing but he does not say who ordered him. Anyway, he didn’t arrange Saiful’s oath-taking. The text of Saiful’s oath was probably advised by his lawyers or others. Ramlang considers Saiful’s oath as undertaken for his own benefit.
The imam says that, from what he has studied, this particular form of oath – sumpah mubahalah – has to be undertaken in the presence of both parties involved. It is only meant as a last resort where there is no evidence available for adjudication in court. But in this case, the matter was still in court, so the oath cannot not be considered to be sumpah mubahalah. It was just an oath for Saiful’s own benefit.
He adds that on that day, Saiful did not appear to be perturbed or afraid as a Muslim would normally be when undertaking such a solemn oath with all its possible serious consequences. Perhaps because Saiful was reading from a prepared text, he may not have been perturbed. But he made errors in reciting the oath.
Ramlang hopes that after this revelation he won’t be blamed (for this whole swearing business).
This imam is just a small-time imam not an Imam Besar, adds Pas commissioner Ibrahim.
