JAIPk helping cops in ‘imam’ army probe

IPOH: The state religious department will cooperate with the police investigation into a report that a man claiming to be Imam Mahdi is trying to form an army in Perak.

State police chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Hanafi said police were working with the Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) to keep an eye on the group before taking legal action, he said after a Hari Raya gathering at the Perak Police Contingent Headquarters here last Friday.

A local newspaper had recently reported about a group, led by a man who claimed to be Imam Mahdi, allegedly planning to form an army known as Tentera Mahdi.

It quoted Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria as urging the police to take swift action in order to stem its influence.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said he had not received any reports about such activities but told the authorities to take action if it was true.

JAIPk director Datuk Mohd Yusop Husin said there was no information or complaints on the group so far.

“We do not know where they are right now and we also don’t know where the mufti got the information,” he told The Star.

“Imam Mahdi is a belief but there is no Imam Mahdi in this world. When someone claims he is Imam Mahdi and he is forming an army, it’s deviant.

“We see this claim as not right and we will try to find the perpetrator behind all this,” he said.