KUALA LUMPUR – Controversial indie film Mentega Terbang director Khairi Anwar Jailani’s legal team will be considering their next move after the appellate court today upheld a gag order imposed on him.
Speaking to Scoop, Khairi’s counsel Zaid Malek expressed disappointment over the appellate court’s decision to dismiss Khairi’s motion, adding: “We will be taking further instructions from (Khairi) on the way forward.”
This comes after a three-member Court of Appeal panel unanimously refused Khairi leave to appeal against a January 24 high court ruling upholding the magistrate court’s order prohibiting him from making statements or comments regarding his ongoing criminal case.
Judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, who chaired the bench, reportedly ruled that there was no merit in Khairi’s motion for leave to appeal as he had failed to show how the magistrate had erred in exercising the lower court’s discretion to impose a gag order as part of bail conditions.
The justice, who sat with judges Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, also said that the high court had exercised its discretion to affirm the order of a magistrate.
On January 17, magistrate Noorelynna Hanim Abd Halim set the gag order as part of the conditions for Khairi’s release on bail after he claimed trial on a charge of intentionally hurting the religious feelings of others.
A week later, the Kuala Lumpur high court denied Khairi’s review application to set aside the gag order but allowed a separate challenge by Mentega Terbang producer Tan Meng Kheng to quash the gag order against him.
Tan, who was earlier charged in a separate courtroom before magistrate Aina Azahra Arifin, had also pleaded not guilty to a similar charge framed under Section 298 of the Penal Code.
Originally released in 2021, Mentega Terbang premiered in Indonesia at the Jogja-Netpac Film Festival.
Around March last year, the film garnered criticism and anger from the public as it allegedly featured scenes with elements that contradicted religious beliefs.
Police probes were initiated after reports were lodged against the film for supposedly containing scenes disturbing to Muslims, including discussions on Muslims eating pork and comparisons between the teachings on life after death according to different religions.
Police had also investigated death threats against several individuals involved with the film after Khairi’s car was splashed with red and black paint by perpetrators who also left handwritten threats on slips of paper.
The Home Ministry then banned the film’s screening in September last year. – April 19, 2024