Eighteen members of the Sky Kingdom commune remain at the mercy of the Malaysia's Higher Shariah Court, with 40 having received leniency upon renouncing the group.

[2] Sky Kingdom attracted worldwide mass media attention in mid-2005 over concerns about efforts by the Malaysian government to suppress its followers as apostates from Islam.

A Muslim by birth, Ariffin, also known as Ayah Pin, claims to have direct contact with the heavens and is believed by his followers to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Buddha, Shiva, and Muhammad.

According to a witness, the sessions began at 3.00am with a special ritual whereby followers would usher Ayah Pin from the main building to a concrete boat in the compound in which he would lie.

Some notable symbols include a two-story high cream coloured teapot[4] with a similarly-sized blue vase, costing RM 45 million.

According to Ayah Pin, it was inspired by the dreams of one of his followers, and reflects a similar vessel in the sky which God uses to shower his blessings on mankind.

[7] Another notable feature in the compound is an equally large yellow umbrella,[4] which offers "a place for people to take shelter beneath God."

About this time, four adherents were arrested for the crime of renouncing Islam, but they were later freed since as ex-Muslims Malaysia's sharia court no longer has jurisdiction over them.

The Sharia court accused him of contravening Section 25 of the Enakmen Pentadbiran Hal Ehwal Agama Islam 1986 (Administration of Islamic Religious Affairs 1986), stating that his teachings and beliefs were "false, deviant, corrupting and threatening to the public peace" (membawa ancaman kepada ketenteraman orang awam serta merosakkan akidah).

Forty-five of his followers face the charge of failing to observe the government fatwa by continuing to be "members of a sect declared deviant", which carries a fine up to RM 3,000 or two years in prison.

At a 1 September 2005, hearing, a trial date for the 45 followers accused of violating the government fatwa was set for three days beginning 18 December.

The Sky Kingdom had previously had great difficulty obtaining legal representation, presumably because of attorneys' fears of reprisals or negative publicity.

[14] The Sky Kingdom commune was featured in a documentary titled Massacre Survivors: Malaysia's Secret Sect produced by SBS News and distributed by Journeyman Pictures.