Judge Mohamad Shariff Abu Samah ordered Aishah to serve her sentence from the day of her arrest, and ordered the books to be destroyed.
Shariff said the court was convinced by the prosecution’s argument, which among others had questioned Aishah’s excuse that the books were for research for her Master’s degree in Usuluddin (Islamic Studies) at Universiti Malaya.
“I also found the defence’s argument for Siti Aishah to be unreasonable.
“Terrorism is a serious crime that is also deplorable. We cannot compromise on this matter, the court views it very seriously.”
Shariff also rejected a request by Aishah’s lawyer, Kamaruzaman Abd Wahab, for the court to consider reducing the sentence.
Kamaruzaman had argued that this was Aishah’s first offence and that she had been been influenced by her lecturer.
“She has a bright future and she has repented. She purchased the books before the home ministry banned it as she is an avid reader.”
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Nazneen Zulkifli said the court must take a tough stand on the matter to serve as a lesson to the public.
Aishah was first detained in March last year, under Section 130JB of the Penal Code and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), for possessing 12 books with militant contents.
She was dismissed by UM because she failed to attend classes.
Aishah was acquitted and released by the High Court in September last year. She had argued that the books in her keep were for her research.
On the same day, she was re-arrested under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca) and detained for another 60 days.
Upon her release, she was placed under house arrest and fitted with an electronic monitoring device to ensure she did not leave the Surah district in Dungun, Terengganu, without the approval of the police.
Aishah’s arrest under Sosma on March 29 was criticised by rights groups and some Pakatan Harapan leaders.
It was reported earlier this month that five of the 12 books purportedly in Aishah’s possession were authored by al-Qaeda followers and one was even written by Osama bin Laden, the infamous al-Qaeda leader said to be behind the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Checks have revealed that the titles were not banned by the home ministry.
They include “Visi Politik Gerakan Jihad” (Political Vision of the Jihad Movement), “Al-Zarqawi – al-Qaida’s Second Generation”, “Dari Usama Kepada Para Aktivis” (From Osama to Activists at Large), “Dari Rahim Ikhwanul Muslimin Ke Pangkuan al-Qaeda” (From the Womb of the Muslim Brotherhood to the Lap of al-Qaeda) and “Ketika Maslahat Dipertuhankan dan Menjadi Taghut Model Baru” (When Natural Benefits are Idolised and Become New Models for Crossing the Limits).