Sky Kingdom cult leader determined to carry on with activities

Channel News Asia/July 11, 2005
By Melissa Goh

Terengganu, Malaysia -- The leader of a deviationist cult calling itself the "Sky Kingdom" is determined to carry on with his group's beliefs.

Ayah Pin is standing his ground despite the arrest of 21 of his followers by Malaysia's state religious body for denigrating Islam, the country's national religion.

Channel NewsAsia travelled to their commune in Terengganu to find out more.

No, it's not a theme park. Neither is it an art museum.

The giant teapot, blue vase and half opened umbrella are located inside the compound of a religious group called the 'Sky Kingdom'.

Its leader is Ariffin Mohamed, or better known as Ayah Pin.

Some 150 followers live with him in the commune in a remote corner of Terengganu.

But the state religious affairs department swooped down on the commune recently and arrested 21 of them.

One was 24-year-old Roslina, who left Kuala Lumpur three years ago to join the group.

Roslina said: "They just came into the house checking without a warrant, just arrested us just like that as if we were criminals, against the law. All I know is I don't have any bad record, I don't think any of us from here has any bad record."

She will be charged in the Syariah Court this September.

If found guilty, she can be jailed up to three years or fined a maximum of RM5,000 (US$1,300).

In fact, the federal government had become uneasy with the group and had been monitoring their activities.

Dr Abdullah Md Zin, Malaysia's Religious Affairs Minister, said: "Ayah Pin is the disciple of Hassan Anak Rimau or better known as Hassan Tuhan who claimed to be god. When Hassan passed away, he took over and furthered the teachings by combining all religions - Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism to create the 'Sky Kingdom'.

'We consider him a deviationist although he has renounced Islam. We don't accept it because it's just an easy way out for him to escape the law. He must be regarded as a Muslim and be dealt with as a Muslim."

Although the Malaysian government has indicated that it will not tolerate any non-mainstream Islamic teachings, it will not use the strict Internal Security Act (ISA) against the group, simply because the group's activities have yet to constitute a threat to national security.

Instead, it is leaving it to the state religious affairs department to handle the matter.

The police though will continue to provide the necessary support to the local religious council to monitor 'Sky Kingdom's' activities

But Ayah Pin is unfazed by the authorities' actions.

Ariffin Mohamad, Leader of the 'Sky Kingdom' sect, said: "I don't have any fight or quarrel with anyone. If they want to demolish the place and arrest us, we will not fight. All we want is to do good, how can we fight?"

The 65-year-old believes he is the reincarnation of all holy figures and will strive to unite all religions through his 'Sky Kingdom'.