Vigilantes patrol Kedah town to check for ‘sin’

SUNGAI PETANI (Malaysia) — In Sungai Petani, a small town in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah, a vigilante group is out to catch couples in the act of khalwat (close physical proximity with an unrelated member of the opposite sex), declaring it is helping the state religious authorities stop Muslims from sinning.

The group, which calls itself “Skuad Badar”, conducts surveillance at hotels and raids, for which it will get prior approval from local mosque officials. It will also file a police report stating its intentions beforehand.

The state’s religious authorities and police have declared the group illegal, saying it is not empowered to carry out raids nor act as moral police.

Skuad Badar comprises 20 to 40 men who stake out budget hotels and parks almost every weekend in search of unmarried couples having illicit sex.

Founder and leader Azhaar Mohamad, a retired serviceman, told The Malaysian Insight the group had “caught hundreds of couples” in the past two years.

Those nabbed are taken to a Muslim cemetery where they are “counselled”.

“We take them to the cemetery as we want them to realise that all Muslims come to this end — the grave.  There, we will advise them about the afterlife so that they can repent and know the error of their ways,” said Mr Azhaar.

Skuad Badar comprises 20 to 40 men who stake out budget hotels and parks almost every weekend in search of unmarried couples having illicit sex. Photo: The Malaysian Insight

The Malaysian Insight followed the group on a raid last Sunday (Nov 11). From 11pm until 3am, the vigilantes searched six motels.

Five couples were detained in the course of the night. They were brought to the Padang Temusu cemetery, some 5km from Sungai Petani. Afterwards, the couples were taken to the mosque to be counselled.

“Some of them cry at the cemetery. I don’t think this affects the image of Islam, as I have been advised by the mosque’s ustaz and imam,” said Mr Azhaar.

Mr Azhaar, who is known to the locals as “Ayah Ad”, said the target was solely Muslims engaged in khalwat and other “illicit activities”.

His group takes its name from the Battle of Badar, the first large-scale engagement between Prophet Muhammad and his opponents in Mecca during the early days of Islam. It is considered a turning point in the prophet’s struggle which then consolidated position as the new leader.

According to Mr Azhaar, raids are conducted during the weekends based on tip-offs from the public and “intelligence” reports from squad members.

The squad monitors budget hotels, which are the primary meeting grounds for couples. He denied there was spying involved.

“When we see a lot of motorcycles outside a hotel, we will go to the front desk and show them our ‘approval letter’,” he said, referring to the police report the squad lodges before conducting a raid.

“If the hotel doesn’t allow us to go in, we won’t go in. But we will wait outside.”

He could not recall how many couples have been caught since the squad commended operations two years ago, but said it was in the “hundreds”.

“I have even been offered RM5,000 (S$1,646.15) by a budget hotel operator but because we have integrity, we do not accept it. Wrong is wrong,  ” said the 45-year-old.

When couples refused to cooperate and open the door, Kedah's Department of Islamic Affairs (JAIK) would be called in for assistance.

Those who are caught would be made call their parents to collect them from the Padang Tembusu mosque at dawn.

He said while they did not want to take over JAIK’s functions, the raids put pressure on the authorities to be more vigilant.

“It’s not that we don’t trust the authorities, but we feel that we can lighten their load as their enforcement unit has only five to six officers while we have almost 40 people.

Couples are brought to a cemetery to be ‘counselled’ by the Badar squad during an anti-vice raid in Sungai Petani, Kedah. Photo: The Malaysian Insight

He said the squad’s efforts lowered the number of khalwat cases in Sungai Petani because there were no repeat offenders.

“In fact, three couples got married after they were caught.

“As a result, the playgrounds are no longer a place for khalwat. We believe we have reduced the number of such cases by 30 per cent.”  THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT