KUALA LUMPUR – The duo accused of insulting Islam – Siti Nuramira Abdullah and partner Alexander Navin Vijayachandran – will be appealing to the public for financial aid to make bail of RM20,000 each, after failing to cough it up on Wednesday.
According to the duo’s lawyer, R. Sivaraj, their legal team will be launching a crowdfunding campaign sometime today as some people have expressed an interest to donate.
“A lot of people have reached out to us (lawyers) about making donations.
“We decided to set up the GoFundMe initiative since nothing has happened after their family and friends were given two days (to gather funds),” he told The Vibes.
He added that a portion of the RM3,000 is not yet in the hands of the defence team as people have only “pledged” to contribute.
He also confirmed that Siti Nuramira is being held in the Beranang satellite prison and Alexander is at the Kuala Kubu Baru satellite prison. Both are awaiting transfer to Kajang Women’s Prison and Sg Buloh Prison, respectively.
Meanwhile, a shariah lawyer has been appointed for Siti Nuramira even though religious authorities have yet to file charges.
However, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary said Siti Nuramira will be charged at the shariah court here under Section 7 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997.
On Wednesday, Siti Nuramira, 26, had pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting religious disharmony during her open mic skit at the Crackhouse Comedy Club here, with judge Siti Amirah Ghazali setting bail at RM20,000 with one surety and August 18 for mention.
In a video which went viral on social media, she claimed to be a Muslim and to have memorised 15 chapters (juzuk) of the Quran, before stripping off her headscarf and baju kurung to reveal a sleeveless top and mini skirt.
The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department has also conducted a preliminary investigation into the video, with its director Datuk Mohd Ajib Ismail saying that the probe had been carried out by Jawi’s enforcement division.
Alexander, 38, also maintained his innocence to two charges under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA 1998 for uploading insensitive materials to online platforms and is facing a RM20,000 bail in total.
S. Sivaraj had told The Vibes then that the couple were struggling to gather the funds needed to post bail as their mobile devices and bank cards had not been returned to them.
“Their friends are trying to help them out but a sum of RM40,000 for both of them will require time and generous friends.”
It was reported yesterday that Crackhouse Comedy Club co-founder Rizal van Geyzel is being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. – The Vibes, July 15, 2022
