KUALA LUMPUR: HOME Ministry and Immigration Department officers are working together to decide on the future of a Cambodian who was sentenced to six months’ jail recently for overstaying for five days and travelling without valid documents.
The man, Mohd Shafiq Ahmad, 22, was sent to Machang Prison on June 19.
A 2½-minute video of Shafiq reciting Quranic verses in prison has gone viral on social media platforms and netizens were taken aback by his proficiency in reciting the Quran.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Shafiq had been in Malaysia all his life and his parents and grandmother were dead.
He said a report from the Immigration Department stated that Syafiq went to Cairo when he was 16 years old to learn to be an imam. “He was using a Thailand passport to get in and out of the country, including the trip to Egypt.
“Immigration Department director-general Datuk Aloyah Mamat and I are aware of his plight. The department is investigating his background and will verify it with his claims that his documents and passport were stolen. Once the story is confirmed, a decision will be made,” he told the New Straits Times.
Shafiq, who was charged under Section 6(1)(c) the Immigration Act for overstaying and travelling without valid documents, is expected to be freed on Oct 19.
Immigration Department deputy director-general (operations) Datuk Sakib Kusmi said once released, Shafiq would be issued a special pass to validate his stay in Malaysia.
“On special consideration, the authorities may provide him with a professional pass to enable him to work as a Quran reciter in mosques in Kota Baru,” he said.
In Kota Baru, a prison spokesman said Shafiq’s popularity soared after the video went viral.
“Because of his popularity, the prison administration decided to appoint him as the imam for Terawih prayers. His melodious voice while reciting the Quran has attracted many people. He told us that he recited all the 30 juzuk (chapters) of the Quran and that he was also a tahfiz (religious) student.”
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Azham Othman said Shafiq was arrested on June 19 in Taman Uda Murni near Pengkalan Chepa.
