One would think that there is nothing worse than holier-than-thous who sit on their moral high horse and preach to all and sundry. The crackdown by the Selangor religious department (Jais) on Valentine's Day would prompt one to revise that thought to holier-than-thous with government-backed authority to carry out their dubious agendas.

The newspapers reported that 208 couples were detained during the raid which took place between the times of 9pm and 4.30am.

It is interesting to note where these raids took place: public parks, budget hotels and other secluded places in various parts of Selangor. These are places where the young and those of not particularly sound financial standing go to and hang out for a bit of privacy, a bit of quietness in their hard life.

But what did they find on their night of promised romance and intimacy? Harassment, grilling and humiliation from Jais officers and the media crew tagging along.

The first thing that struck me upon reading the report was why Jais only targetted these 'public' and lower-middle class areas and not five-star hotels, high-class discos or up-market massage parlors where they would find bigger fish the likes of Datuk and Tan Sri doing similar things (if not more) with women far, far younger than them who are far more deserving of such humiliation than the common couples in the parks.

It seems to me like Jais are merely petty publicity seekers busting the small fry to show they are doing their job. The impression they give is that if you are rich - hey, feel free to khalwat . Heaven forbid if you're poor and you want a little time with your loved one and have nowhere else to go.

The second thing was the naivety clearly evident in Jais when the state assistant enforcement director Mohd Amin Husin said that the operation was purposely conducted on Valentine's Day in anticipation that young Muslim couples will patronise such places.

Good Lord, man! This khalwat happens in these places whether or not it is Valentine's Day!

The real question is what business is it of his what these people do in the privacy of their own company? How would he like it if he was sitting quietly with his wife in a park and then find themselves being jumped on by a gang of people and the media after which they are detained for a few hours and only let go after he furnished their marriage certificate? It goes to show that Jais has a total lack of empathy - they don't care who they annoy and humiliate as long as their agenda is fulfilled.

Which brings me to my third issue - what is that agenda anyway? Do they think that by busting young Muslim couples and humiliating them, it would make these couples be stronger in their faith? That they would repent and thank Jais for showing them the way to syurga ? That they would not want to be together in private until they were married?

I sincerely don't think so. I would be very angry with Jais, with the government and maybe if I wasn't thinking right, with the religion itself. Islam is a beautiful religion but if being a Muslim means I have given up my right to be with a loved one in a private and quiet area and being subjected to the treatment meted out to the 208 Valentine couples caught, I don't think it's very comforting or something to be proud of.

It is reminiscent of those Spanish inquisitions that the Christians used to carry out in the middle ages. If you were a Christian, you were at the mercy of these inquisitors whose only agenda was to wring a guilty confession from you or prove your guilt through dubious means in a 'court'. They were not interested in whether you did it or not. As far as they were concerned, if you were caught, you were guilty.

So Jais will be charging 44 couples under Section 29(1)(a)(b) of the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment 199; are congratulations in order?

Jais will never catch all these people who commit khalwat and it is indeed a futile effort. It is like trying to catch flowing water. You may cup some in your hand for a while but you can never hope to catch or stop it.

As we blast in to the future and globalisation takes over, I hope Muslims in Malaysia or indeed those in other jurisdictions with similar laws will recognise how silly and archaic such a rule is and how it does nothing to promote Islam as a beautiful and tolerant religion.