Nigerian Simon Momoh files court challenge against Immigration Dept’s deportation order, Malaysian wife appealing to home minister
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Simon Momoh's wife, Low Kar Hui, shows a picture of her husband on her phone at the Shah Alam High Court April 21, 2021. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
SHAH ALAM, April 21 — Nigerian man Simon Adavize Momoh yesterday filed a lawsuit to challenge the Immigration Department’s orders to deport him from Malaysia, a country where he has been living for the past eight years with his Malaysian wife and their two young children, his lawyers confirmed today.
At the same time, his wife Low Kar Hui had on Monday also written to the home minister to appeal for the reversal of the Immigration Department’s decision to cancel Simon’s spouse visa — which was still valid until October 2022 — and to also reverse the decision to deport him.
Simon’s lawyer V. Vemal Arasan said the lawsuit via a judicial review application was filed in the Shah Alam High Court yesterday, and that it was to challenge the decision of the Immigration director-general’s decision to cancel Simon’s pass and to deport him.
“The case management for that matter is on May 4. We filed a certificate of urgency but that was the latest date they gave us,” he told reporters when met at the Shah Alam court complex here.
Vemal Arasan said the judicial review was filed yesterday as he had only managed to get Simon to affirm his affidavit on Monday. Previously, the lawyer was not allowed to meet or have access to Simon due to various reasons given by the authorities such as Covid-19 concerns, and had only managed to meet Simon for the first time last Friday and for the second time this Monday.
Simon has been detained by Malaysian authorities for about 37 days now since March 15, even after he had paid a RM12,000 fine and served a symbolic one-day jail sentence for a drink-driving offence.
Simon is still detained at the Semenyih immigration detention centre.
Today was initially scheduled to be the Shah Alam High Court’s hearing of a habeas corpus application to challenge his alleged unlawful detention and to secure his release to enable him to be reunited with his young Selangor family.
But the hearing of the habeas corpus application has now been deferred to this Friday, as the government represented by the Attorney General’s Chambers said it requires time to reply to Simon’s affidavit on the habeas corpus matter. This affidavit was only affirmed by Simon on Monday when his lawyer was able to meet him.
Datuk Gurdial Singh Nijar, another lawyer representing Simon, explained that the judicial review application was necessary to ensure that he can remain in the country even if he is released from his prolonged detention.
“That judicial review is against the deportation, because they have made a decision to cancel his pass, and then pending that, to remove him, deport him.
“So even if he is released under the habeas corpus, they can say, ‘Oh, his pass is cancelled, so we have the right to remove him under that’.
“That’s why Vemal has filed the judicial review challenging that decision, stating that decision is wrong in law. So that’s also a very important second step that he has filed,” he explained to reporters when met.
At the same time, his wife Low Kar Hui had on Monday also written to the home minister to appeal for the reversal of the Immigration Department’s decision to cancel Simon’s spouse visa — which was still valid until October 2022 — and to also reverse the decision to deport him.
Simon’s lawyer V. Vemal Arasan said the lawsuit via a judicial review application was filed in the Shah Alam High Court yesterday, and that it was to challenge the decision of the Immigration director-general’s decision to cancel Simon’s pass and to deport him.
“The case management for that matter is on May 4. We filed a certificate of urgency but that was the latest date they gave us,” he told reporters when met at the Shah Alam court complex here.
Vemal Arasan said the judicial review was filed yesterday as he had only managed to get Simon to affirm his affidavit on Monday. Previously, the lawyer was not allowed to meet or have access to Simon due to various reasons given by the authorities such as Covid-19 concerns, and had only managed to meet Simon for the first time last Friday and for the second time this Monday.
Simon has been detained by Malaysian authorities for about 37 days now since March 15, even after he had paid a RM12,000 fine and served a symbolic one-day jail sentence for a drink-driving offence.
Simon is still detained at the Semenyih immigration detention centre.
Today was initially scheduled to be the Shah Alam High Court’s hearing of a habeas corpus application to challenge his alleged unlawful detention and to secure his release to enable him to be reunited with his young Selangor family.
But the hearing of the habeas corpus application has now been deferred to this Friday, as the government represented by the Attorney General’s Chambers said it requires time to reply to Simon’s affidavit on the habeas corpus matter. This affidavit was only affirmed by Simon on Monday when his lawyer was able to meet him.
Datuk Gurdial Singh Nijar, another lawyer representing Simon, explained that the judicial review application was necessary to ensure that he can remain in the country even if he is released from his prolonged detention.
“That judicial review is against the deportation, because they have made a decision to cancel his pass, and then pending that, to remove him, deport him.
“So even if he is released under the habeas corpus, they can say, ‘Oh, his pass is cancelled, so we have the right to remove him under that’.
“That’s why Vemal has filed the judicial review challenging that decision, stating that decision is wrong in law. So that’s also a very important second step that he has filed,” he explained to reporters when met.
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kt notes:
Simon Momoh has been living in Malaysia for the past eight years with his Malaysian wife and their two young children. For crying out loud, why now Immigration wants to deport him?
Of course the fact he is Christian and married to a Chinese wife don't help.
Alas, if only his name was Zakir.
Related:
If only Wee KHAT Siong grew some telurs....ha ha ha.....
ReplyDeleteQUOTE
MCA: Expel Zakir Naïk
By ALLISON LAI
Wednesday, 14 Aug 2019
PETALING JAYA: Controversial preacher Zakir Naik should be expelled and banned from Malaysia as he has proven to be a threat to racial harmony, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
"As a foreigner and wanted criminal, who is he to tell the rightful Chinese citizens to leave the country?....
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have you heard KHAT and son ever saying anything about Zakir?
DeleteQUOTE
DeleteLim: Zakir issue not solely left to DAP's ‘Indian ministers’ to raise
15 Aug 2019
DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has defended his party against the perception that concerns over Dr Zakir Naik had been left solely to its Indian ministers to raise to the cabinet.
Saying such claims were “not true”, the Iskandar Puteri MP said the stand taken by Gobind Singh Deo and M Kulasegaran was one agreed upon by all six DAP members currently in the cabinet.
“Firstly, Gobind and Kula are in the cabinet not as ‘Indian ministers,’ but as ‘Malaysian ministers’.
“Secondly, the Zakir issue was not left to Gobind and Kula to raise, but had been the concern of the six DAP ministers who had, under the leadership of the DAP secretary-general and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, discussed and concurred on the issue before the cabinet met yesterday.
“Thirdly, the cabinet did not decide its concern because of Zakir’s attack on the Chinese Malaysians, as the Malaysiakini report on Zakir’s unsolicited attack on the Chinese Malaysians came out only after the cabinet meeting,” Lim said in a statement today.
Yesterday, Gobind and Kulasegaran informed in a joint statement that they had raised the issue of the controversial India-born Islamic preacher during the cabinet meeting and called for him to be sent away from Malaysia.
They said they were now leaving it to Prime Minister Dr Mahatahir Mohamad to consider the country’s position on this.
Aside from Guan Eng (Finance), Gobind (Communications and Multimedia) and Kulasegaran (Human Resources), other DAP leaders holding ministerial portfolios are Anthony Loke (Transport), Yeo Bee Yin (Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment) and Teresa Kok (Primary Industries).
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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/08/14/we-want-zakir-naik-out-of-the-country-dap-ministers-tell-pm
DeleteDAP certainly has not been silent.
Hurray for islam..the religion of peace and fairness..ptui!
Delete