Popular preacher arrested in Johor for unlicensed religious sermon, video sparks online debate

Malay Mail

7 days ago

JOHOR BARU, May 29 — The Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) arrested Muslim preacher Ustaz Mat Esa Deraman, popularly known as Tok Ku Pasir Gudang, for delivering a religious sermon without state-mandated accreditation at a house in Pasir Gudang last night.
The arrest was carried out at 8.30pm by JAINJ's enforcement division, with assistance from the Seri Alam district police.
Following that, a two-minute and 58-second video of Mat Esa's arrest was widely circulated on social media.
Celebrity preacher Ustaz Abdullah Khairi shared the footage on his Facebook page, questioning the circumstances of the arrest and Mat Esa's subsequent detention in a lock-up.
JAINJ director Nasri Md Ali said the arrest was made under Section 11 of the Johor Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1997 for teaching religion without a license or permit.
'I can confirm that the speaker is still under the department's investigation,' he said when contacted by the media today.
Nasri said checks revealed that the speaker in question is known to give talks to congregations and broadcasts the sessions live on social media.
'The house where he conducts his talks is the residence of another individual that is used as a place for religious talks on a daily basis after maghrib and subuh prayers.
'When the arrest was made, there were several people in the house where the live session were said to be broadcasted on Facebook and Youtube.
'However, checks showed that the speaker's latest video has since been deleted,' he said.
Nasri said the speaker's act of conducting sermons without a valid license or permit was among the complaints brought to the department's attention.
'We had prior instructions from JAINJ's licensing committee to take action on him,' he said.
Based on records, Nasri said the speaker was arrested by the department in 2016 for giving a sermon without valid accreditation.
He added that the same speaker was also investigated, but managed to flee from a JAINJ enforcement raid, during a sermon in 2020.
'This is the third time that the department has taken action on him for teaching or giving religious talks without a license or permit,' he said, adding that the requirement is similar to other states that also require the preachers or organisers to obtain a valid license or permit prior to giving their talks.