She told The Australian: “This is not about my middle finger. It is about them being shaken by a Malay woman daring to speak up against their idea of Islam, their wish to ­Islamise Malaysia.”

Siti Kasim had her statement taken by police on Monday. She is being investigated under Section 509 of the Penal Code for outraging the modesty of a person.

It was earlier reported that Siti had shown the middle finger after those in the audience harassed her for speaking out against the Private Member’s Bill tabled in Parliament at a forum on Sept 5 titled Bill 355 Amendment: Between Reality and Perception.
Siti was quoted as saying by The Australian: “The man who has lodged the report is trying to pin on me that I have insulted Islam, a serious offence in this country.

“But everyone can see the video. I didn’t say anything about Islam. They were heckling and booing me and it was an automatic response. There was no point in shouting back at them. I flashed my finger to show my contempt for them.

“If they really want to introduce shariah, then be specific about the penalties they are seeking.”

The report went on to say that the Bill aims to give wider powers to shariah courts and increase punishments for offences, including amputation.

The questioning of Siti comes days before the private member’s Bill is to be debated in Parliament, which sits from Monday.

The report said opponents of the Bill – which requires only a simple majority to pass into law – felt it was a way of introducing hudud into Malaysia by stealth, rather than through a change to the Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority.

It said those advocating hudud claimed they wanted to elevate the power of the shariah courts for Muslims, and that the changes would not affect non-Muslims.

The Australian report pointed out that in Aceh, Indonesia, hudud was introduced for Muslims in 2001, but that last year it was expanded to cover all residents. In April, a 60-year-old Christian woman found guilty of selling alcohol became the first non-Muslim in the state to be whipped under the laws.