Standup Stripper And Boyfriend Successfully Crowdfunded Their RM40k Bail, And Public Outrage Ensues
Lawyers for Liberty will help Siti Nuramira Abdullah and Alexander Navin Vijayachandran to raise RM40,000 for bail.
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The public had come to the rescue of a woman accused of insulting Islam by raising more than RM40,000 as bail money.
Siti Nuramira Abdullah allegedly committed the offence during an open-mic performance at the Crackhouse Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur recently.
According to the lawyer, the donation had reached RM40,000 this morning (18 July).
Any additional donations made after this would be returned to the donors.
Sivaraj, from the legal group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), said any additional donations made after this would be returned to the donors.
If we pass a certain hour, the court staff will ask us to come back tomorrow to bail them out due to transportation problems, as they are from Beranang and Kuala Kubu Bharu prisons.
Lawyer R. Sivaraj updating on whether Siti Nuramira Abdullah and Alexander Navin Vijayachandran could post bail by today.
Last Friday, Sivaraj announced that LFL would help Siti Nuramira and her partner, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, to raise RM20,000 for each person through public donations using LFL bank accounts.
Not Out Of The Woods Yet
On Wednesday (13 July), in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court. Siti Nuramira pleaded not guilty to the charge of insulting Islam.
She is accused of committing the offence by confessing to being a Muslim and memorizing 15 verses of the Quran before removing the hijab and baju kurung at the Crackhouse Comedy Club on 4 June.
Siti Nuramira, 26, was charged under Section 298A of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, division, enmity, hatred or malice, or affecting the preservation of harmony or unity, on religious grounds.
Sessions Court judge Siti Aminah Ghazali allowed Siti Nuramira bail of RM20,000 with one surety and warned her not to comment on the case.
Siti Nuramira faces a maximum prison sentence of five years if found guilty.
@majoritiofficial Apa motif dia ni? 😌 #hina #islam #melayu #malaysia #tular #ttdi #amy #crackhousecomedyclub #jawi #beritaditiktok #trendingnewsmalaysia ♬ Breaking news, topics. Moderate tension. – 3KTrack
On the same day, Navin, 38, pleaded not guilty to two charges of uploading insulting content on social media.
For the first charge, Navin allegedly shared a post on his Instagram account on 5 June with the intent to insult others.Â
In the second charge, he allegedly shared content through his YouTube account on June 16 with the intent to insult others.
Sessions Court Judge Azrul Darus allowed Navin bail of RM20,000 with one surety and set 1 Sept for mention of the case.
In Disbelief And Indignant
Meanwhile, many are unhappy and puzzled that anyone would help the woman.
They said it is an unhealthy precedent that would only encourage others to make jokes that insult religions.
People also wanted to know who were the ones that contributed to her cause.
Berjaya rupanya mereka kumpul RM40,000 untuk biayai ikat jamin dan dibebaskan, maksudnya ada kumpulan dengan kesanggupan memberikan dana kepada mereka yang hina Islam dan orang Melayu.
— Sepatah Dua Media (@sepatahdua_my) July 18, 2022
At the same time, some blamed the government, accusing ministers of not taking a tough stance on the matter.
Bila kerajaan,menteri agama tidak tegas dalam kes hina Islam memang menjadi2 la puak2 ni terus menerus hina..bila didakwa siap bagi ikat jamin bagai..sepatutnya x payah..ni bila jadi camni puak2 ni akan terus hina pastu bila kena tangkap,dakwa x pe nanti boleh bayar ikat jamin..
— Bitcoinhunter (@bitcoinhunter_) July 17, 2022
Her critics added that the money should have been spent on the poor and needy, including orphanages and tahfiz schools.
Daripada ikat jamin dyrog ni baiklah sedekah kt anak yatim, budak tahfiz..sebelum buat apa2 fikirlah Masa depan sikit kak wei..
— fai🇲🇾🇵🇸 (@akma_hamzah) July 16, 2022
Despite the outrage, some defended her action as exercising freedom of expression.
Nevertheless, many, if not everyone, agreed that what she did was foolish and unnecessary.
1. Siti Nuramira’s act was stupid and distasteful but she should not be charged. Except under very limited circumstances of inciting discrimination, hate and violence, no one should face criminal punishment for exercising their freedom of speech, appalling as it may be. pic.twitter.com/yRCX380TwK
— Sin Yew (@S_Y_New) July 13, 2022
Besides splitting public opinion, her action had also landed the comedy club owner, Rizal Van Geyzel, in hot soup.
READ ALSO: Crackhouse Comedy’s Rizal Van Geyzel Will Be Released From Police Custody Today
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