Radio station removes hudud video after presenter threatened

A journalist from radio station BFM received threats after a video in which she appeared as a presenter on the tabling of hudud laws in Kelantan went viral online.

Pictures of Aisyah Tajuddin were widely circulated on Facebook with users saying all sorts of nasty things.

BFM has since removed the video from the BFM YouTube page.

The station said it regretted the personal attacks on Aisyah who was merely a stand-in cast member of the video and not its regular presenter.

In the two-minute satire video “Hudud Isi Periuk Nasi” that was posted on Thursday, Aisya had criticised the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly for passing amendments to state's Syariah Criminal Code II 1993.

“You have made noise about hudud for a long time now. I am lazy to comment on it. But I have one thing to ask. What has happened to the flood victims in Kelantan. It has been three months and they don’t have a home,” she said in the BFM Kupas programme.

The video was produced and directed by Projek Dialog, a platform to discuss pertinent issues in the country.

Aisyah went on to say that religion was being used to distract people from the real issues such as the economy and high rates of drug use and divorce.

The video was posted on the Kelantan Story & Jj Stall Story Facebook page and was subsequently shared over 16,500 times at time of writing.

Many Facebook users had commented asking why Aisyah was questioning God’s laws and asked her to repent.

BFM said Aisyah was not the author of the script and so the views on the video were not her personal stance on the issue.

“We wholly and unreservedly condemn the vile and vicious threats that have been levelled against Aisyah Tajuddin. Such threats are not only against the laws of our country but have no place in a society that espouses peace and tolerance,” said BFM and Projek Dialog in a statement on Friday.

They also apologised for any offences that might have arose from the video.

“We have taken the decision to take down the video in view of the offence it might have caused,” added the radio station.

In another development, Gerakan legal team said they also received threats for filing an originating summons to declare the passing of the amendments illegal and void.

Sisters in Islam (SIS) assistant manager for legal advocacy and public education, Afiq M. Noor, condemned the threats as unIslamic.

“The hudud laws in Kelantan can be criticised by anyone because they are man made laws and not from God. It can also be reviewed in the courts,” he said adding that Aisyah had the freedom of speech under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.