JOHOR BAHRU - The Johor Islamic Religious Council (MAINJ) will take legal action on individuals found to teach or give religious talks without credentials in the state.
Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Exco Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said actions will be taken against the organisers of the programme.
"Johor Sultan, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, has agreed that speakers who teach and give lectures in Islam must have credentials.
"Any organiser who employs speakers MAINJ will be considered to have committed the offence of collaborating with them under Section 43 of the Sharia Criminal Offences Enactment 1997.
"If found guilty, they could face a RM5,000 fine or three years in prison, or both," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said those found teaching and providing Islamic lectures without credentials will be punished under Section 119(1) of the Islamic Religious Administration Enactment (Johor State) 2003 and Section 11 of the Shariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1997, which bring a penalty of RM5,000 or imprisonment for three years or both if found guilty.
According to Fared, the MAINJ is in charge of mosques and suraus throughout the state.
He added that the Islamic community must obey the laws that have been enacted to ensure the true teachings of Islam are upheld and implemented in the state.