Who Is Bilqis Hijjas

Dancer Bilqis Hijjas, who was in the limelight three years ago for dropping yellow balloons at an event attended by former prime minister Najib Razak, remained a free woman today after the prosecution team said it did not wish to continue with its appeal against an earlier court decision to free her under the Minor Offences Act.

Deputy public prosecutor Nur Hafizah Rajuni informed High Court judge Nazlan Ghazali of the decision to drop the appeal today.

Bilqis, who is the daughter of prominent architect Hijjas Kasturi, was acquitted twice by the Magistrate’s Court in 2016 and last year under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act for behaving in an insulting manner with the purpose of stirring anger which would likely cause a disturbance.

She was accused of dropping the balloons from the fifth floor of the Pavilion shopping mall in Bukit Bintang on Aug 31, 2015 while Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor were attending the Diverse­City 2015 Kuala Lumpur International Arts Festival on the ground floor.

The balloons had carried the words “democracy”, “free media” and “justice”. Bilqis’ act followed the Bersih 4 rally which took place a day earlier.

In 2016, magistrate Faizal Ismail ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge against Bilqis.

However, she was ordered to answer the Minor Offences charge after the public prosecutor appealed against her acquittal.

She was freed by the same magistrate last year after her defence case as she was able to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case.

Speaking to reporters, Bilqis who was represented by lawyer Eric Paulsen said she was relieved that there was finally an end to her case.

“In fact, it was in the same Merdeka month three years ago when the said offence took place,” she said, adding that she had been exercising her freedom of expression.

“I can get the balloons if needed,” she joked.

Paulsen meanwhile said Bilqis had been acquitted twice, while the government had also appealed twice over a petty offence.

“Even though the maximum penalty was RM100, she insisted on fighting this case,” he said.

He added that the prosecutors should focus on real criminal cases, not those which were politically linked.