Zulqarnain Lukman said Khalid has 14 days to file a leave application in the Selangor Shariah Court of Appeal to reverse the finding of the lower court.
“He should be given the space to decide what is best for him. I will take instruction from him to act accordingly,” he told FMT.
Zulqarnain said it was unlikely that the state shariah prosecutor would want to appeal to reinstate the fine imposed by the lower court.
“But he may be tempted to cross appeal the inadequacy of the sentence if Khalid decides to appeal to set aside the conviction,” he said.
According to Zulqarnain, the Amanah communications director needed time to consider several factors before making a decision as Islam was a state matter and the Ruler is the head of the religion.
Zulqarnain said this in response to calls by Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) chairman Ahmad Farouk Musa and lawyer Rosli Dahlan that Khalid should appeal his conviction and not be satisfied by accepting the reduced fine imposed by the Selangor Shariah High Court on Friday.
Both Farouk and Rosli said that Khalid’s decision not to file an appeal would set a precedent that will have serious repercussions.
They said that Khalid accepting the fine and not trying to set aside the conviction suggested that he had accepted the definition of “teaching without a permit”, as stipulated by the Selangor religious affairs department (JAIS).
“Khalid’s approach suggested that JAIS was right in taking action and prosecuting him for “teaching” without credentials,” Rosli had reportedly said.
Farouk agreed, saying that “by not appealing, Khalid was implicitly saying that JAIS was right in defining the meaning of the clause ‘teaching without credentials’.”
Selangor Shariah High Court judge Salehan Yatim reduced the amount of the fine from the RM2,900 imposed by the lower Shariah Court in Klang to RM1,900, which means that Khalid will be eligible to contest in the coming general election.
The Federal Constitution disqualifies an MP from duty if he is convicted of an offence and sentenced to a jail term of not less than one year or a fine of not less than RM2,000.
Soon after the verdict, Khalid told FMT he would not appeal against the conviction but said the narrow interpretation of “teaching” in the Selangor Islamic Administration Enactment must be amended.
Early this year, the lower Shariah Court in Klang found Khalid guilty of teaching Islam without valid credentials when he delivered a talk at a surau in Taman Seri Sementa, Klang, in 2011.
He was fined RM2,900 and that put him at risk of not being able to contest in the next general election.
Khalid claimed he had been invited to the surau to speak about his trip to Palestine and not to give a religious lecture.
Khalid: I can contest in GE14 despite appeal on religious offence