SHAH ALAM - Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denies releasing the 'haram fatwa' for voting for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate in the Pulai by-election.
He said parties took his speech in the ceramah at Pulai on Sept 2 out of context.
"My speech was long. I touched on several issues faced by the public at the time, especially regarding the cost-of-living issues that the PH government failed to overcome.
"That’s why I urged voters in the Pulai Parliament not to vote for PH's Suhaizan Kayat," he said in a statement on Sunday.
Muhyiddin explained that he did not release the Sharia law that said it was forbidden to vote for the PH candidate.
"I stated figuratively that ‘I’d give it haram in the law’ without any intention of making it into a fatwa of the Sharia law; afterwards, I said, ‘tomorrow those challenging me will follow which fatwa’," he said.
He added that, as a person who understands religious laws, he could not simply release such a fatwa.
"What’s more, we have certain bodies in our country, such as the National Fatwa Council, with the authority to issue fatwas after consulting with scholars and scientists who are experts in related fields.
"I believe the audience who followed my speech during the talk understood what I meant," the former prime minister said.
He said that based on the response of the audience that night, he was confident they did not take his statement seriously as a religious fatwa.
"I believe my speech was taken out of context and manipulated by certain parties to confuse the public," he said.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said police have opened investigation papers against Muhyiddin.
Ayob confirmed a report had been lodged and that he was investigating the matter.
He said the fatwa can only be released by the National Fatwa Council and State Fatwa Council committees.
On Saturday, the Pagoh MP, in a Ceramah Perdana at the Kempas Main Square in Johor Bahru, allegedly released a statement that it was ‘haram’ to vote for Suhaizan.
The Pulai Parliament and Simpang Jeram State Assembly by-elections would be held following the death of their incumbent, who was the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, on July 23.