FMT:
Single mum wants Federal Court to remove MAIPs from custody case
Loh Siew Hong asks whether a Perlis enactment empowers the state’s religious authority to intervene in non-Muslim divorce matters.
Loh Siew Hong is challenging the Perlis religious authority’s legal right to intervene in a custody hearing over her three children.
PUTRAJAYA: A single mother is asking the Federal Court to set aside a ruling allowing the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) to intervene and vary a custody order over her three children who are now alleged to be Muslims.
Loh Siew Hong filed the application for leave to appeal a Feb 7 Court of Appeal ruling by framing four questions of law.
She is asking whether a Perlis Islamic religious administration enactment gives powers to the state authorities to intervene in non-Muslim divorce matters.
Loh is also asking the apex court to determine whether MAIPs has passed the threshold under Rules of Court 2012 to be made a party in the custody matter.
Another question relates to whether Section 3(3) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 operates to prohibit MAIPs from being made a party to vary the custody order.
The fourth question is whether the Court of Appeal’s ruling went against Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution that allows a parent or guardian to determine the religious status of children aged below 18.
Under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, Loh must satisfy the Federal Court that there are novel and constitutional questions of public importance and raised for the first time.
The application, sighted by FMT, was filed by Gunamalar Law Chambers yesterday.
Shamsher Singh Thind, a lawyer in Loh’s legal team, said the application had been fixed for case management on April 3.
Last month, the Court of Appeal held that MAIPs had made out a case under Order 15 Rule 6(2) of the Rules of Court 2012, read with Section 96 of the Law Reform Act.
Justice Has Zanah Mehat, who led a three-member bench, said a reading of the two provisions would confer upon the applicant (MAIPs) a legal right to intervene.
MAIPs had appealed against a High Court order last year that refused to allow it to intervene in the action.
Loh’s former husband, M Nagahswaran, is said to have taken the children to Perlis, where he unilaterally converted them to Islam on July 7, 2020.
The 15-year-old twin girls and an 11-year-old son were placed under the care and control of preacher Nazirah Nanthakumari Abdullah.
On March 31, 2020, the High Court granted Loh full custody of the children.
Loh’s divorce from Nagahswaran was finalised on Sept 23, 2021.
Loh also took out a habeas corpus application in the High Court, which was allowed by Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah in February last year.
That decision paved the way for a reunion between the mother and her children.
In March 2022, Loh filed a judicial review application to challenge the children’s unilateral conversion, which will be heard later this month.
PUTRAJAYA: A single mother is asking the Federal Court to set aside a ruling allowing the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) to intervene and vary a custody order over her three children who are now alleged to be Muslims.
Loh Siew Hong filed the application for leave to appeal a Feb 7 Court of Appeal ruling by framing four questions of law.
She is asking whether a Perlis Islamic religious administration enactment gives powers to the state authorities to intervene in non-Muslim divorce matters.
Loh is also asking the apex court to determine whether MAIPs has passed the threshold under Rules of Court 2012 to be made a party in the custody matter.
Another question relates to whether Section 3(3) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 operates to prohibit MAIPs from being made a party to vary the custody order.
The fourth question is whether the Court of Appeal’s ruling went against Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution that allows a parent or guardian to determine the religious status of children aged below 18.
Under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, Loh must satisfy the Federal Court that there are novel and constitutional questions of public importance and raised for the first time.
The application, sighted by FMT, was filed by Gunamalar Law Chambers yesterday.
Shamsher Singh Thind, a lawyer in Loh’s legal team, said the application had been fixed for case management on April 3.
Last month, the Court of Appeal held that MAIPs had made out a case under Order 15 Rule 6(2) of the Rules of Court 2012, read with Section 96 of the Law Reform Act.
Justice Has Zanah Mehat, who led a three-member bench, said a reading of the two provisions would confer upon the applicant (MAIPs) a legal right to intervene.
MAIPs had appealed against a High Court order last year that refused to allow it to intervene in the action.
Loh’s former husband, M Nagahswaran, is said to have taken the children to Perlis, where he unilaterally converted them to Islam on July 7, 2020.
The 15-year-old twin girls and an 11-year-old son were placed under the care and control of preacher Nazirah Nanthakumari Abdullah.
On March 31, 2020, the High Court granted Loh full custody of the children.
Loh’s divorce from Nagahswaran was finalised on Sept 23, 2021.
Loh also took out a habeas corpus application in the High Court, which was allowed by Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah in February last year.
That decision paved the way for a reunion between the mother and her children.
In March 2022, Loh filed a judicial review application to challenge the children’s unilateral conversion, which will be heard later this month.
***
kt comments:
Disgusting, MAIPs (Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council) going after underaged non-Muslim children reminds me bitterly and horrendously of JAWI harassing Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz (former Borders bookstore manager) - republished Malay Mail 15 March 2015 article to remind us of typical brutal Islamic authorities' bullying tactics:
MM:
‘Arrogant’ JAWI again renews pursuit of Borders manager
MM:
‘Arrogant’ JAWI again renews pursuit of Borders manager
JAWI's actions showed 'arrogance' in deliberately wanting to intimidate Nik Raina (centre) by serving the notice directly to the bookstore manager, her lawyer said. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
Sunday, 15 Mar 2015 11:05 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (JAWI) has appealed against the Federal Territory Shariah High Court’s February 26 decision to discharge Borders bookstore manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz for selling a book deemed un-Islamic.
Aside from the continuing its years-long prosecution of her, Chief Sharie Prosecutor (KPS) Mohamad Adib Husain also took the unusual step of serving the notice of the appeal directly to Nik Raina at her place of work in the Mid Valley shopping mall.
"Last Friday, I received notice that the Ketua Pendakwa Syarie (KPS) has appealed to the Shariah Appeal Court against the order of discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) granted by the Shariah High Court.
"The KPS served the notice of appeal at Borders Gardens ignoring the fact that my firm LHAG (Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill) are solicitors on record. The KPS breached the rule that they should not communicate with my clients directly," Nik Raina’s lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
According to the lawyer, JAWI's actions showed "arrogance" in deliberately wanting to intimidate Nik Raina by serving the notice directly to the bookstore manager instead of the lawyers representing her in the case.
Rosli added that the latest appeal puts Mohamad Adib and JAWI’s director-general in contempt of both the civil High Court and Court of Appeal’s orders directing that the prosecution against Nik Raina be discontinued due to illegality.
"This appeal is a positive act and not just a passive omission by the KPS, which is in direct breach of the two orders of the superior courts," Rosli explained.
"This will be a first in Malaysia if we take steps to cite the KPS/JAWI for contempt of a civil court order.”
Rosli also clarified that he was not in any way implicating the Shariah courts for the latest development, pointing out that the Shariah High Court clearly agreed with the civil courts’ orders when it gave Nik Raina a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
Nik Raina was charged for being a Muslim manager at a bookstore that carried the book, “Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta”, which was translated from the English Version written by Canadian author Irshad Manji.
JAWI raided the Borders outlet in Mid Valley where she is a manager on May 23, 2012, even before the book was banned by the Home Ministry, and arrested her a week later.
On June 19 2012, she was charged under Section 13 (1) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act for allegedly selling and distributing a book that is contrary to the Islamic laws.
If convicted, she may be fined up to RM3,000 or jailed up to two years, or both.
On March 22, 2013, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that JAWI had acted illegally in raiding Borders, seizing the books and charging Nik Raina. It was then ordered to withdraw its charges against her in the Syariah court.
On December 30, 2014 the Court of Appeal also ruled in favour of Nik Raina, and said the prosecution against her was “unreasonable, irrational” and done in bad faith, and that it was against the “principle of fairness and justice” for JAWI to prosecute Nik Raina for an offence in the Shariah court simply because she was a Muslim and because it could not charge the company and her non-Muslim supervisor.
If JAWI thinks its action will impress non muslims like myself and think islam a great religion, those running JAWI must think more than twice again.
ReplyDeleteIt disgusts us and definitely harden our views that JAWI is an organisation bent on its arrogant and unprincipled ways.
As I said, if a monkey were to cleverly learn to recite the sahadah, JAWI and the religious bigots like the Perlis Asri; will make sure it will remain muslim.
What do converts like the bigot Firdaus Wong has to say? He probably agrees with JAWI's action because he (Wong) has transformed into the typical muslim ketuanan; he with the unkempt beard!
Islam is a religion of peace and justice???? Don't make me laugh.